Recently Graduated Medical Students Lack Exposure to and Comfort with Chronic Liver Diseases

Background The prevalence of chronic liver disease (CLD) is rising, but it remains unclear if medical school curricula are emphasizing CLD to reflect its growing epidemiology. Aims To assess comfort levels and knowledge of CLD among recently graduated medical students Methods An anonymous survey was distributed to incoming categorical Internal Medicine (IM) interns at a single academic institution during a 2-year period. The survey consisted of 38 Likert-like questions evaluating comfort levels and self-assessed knowledge for several general medicine and liver diseases, as well as 12 multiple-choice questions to objectively test knowledge. Wilcoxon ranked sum and Fisher’s exact test were then used. Results There was a 100% ( n = 65) completion rate. Only 14 (22%) of those surveyed reported exposure to a hepatology rotation in medical school. Highest mean comfort levels (1 = not at all comfortable, 5 = very comfortable) were for managing congestive heart failure (3.59) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (3.77). Mean comfort levels for various liver diseases were significantly lower (2.22–3.03, all p < 0.01). Mean self-rated knowledge (1 = no knowledge, 5 = strong knowledge) was also low (2.14–3.13). Although 98% agreed that hepatology is critical to IM training, only 42% agreed that their hepatology education during medical school was adequate. Conclusions Recently graduated medical students are less comfortable managing liver diseases compared to other general medical conditions. Only a minority report satisfaction with hepatology education during medical school. These findings suggest that medical curricula need to be modified to better emphasize CLD.