Evaluating the Association of a Core EPA-Oriented Patient Handover Curriculum on Medical Students' Self-reported Frequency of Observation and Skill Acquisition

Introduction Giving or receiving a patient handover to transition patient care responsibility is one of the thirteen Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs) for Entering Residency. However, implementing a patient handover curriculum in undergraduate medical education (UME) remains challenging. Educational leaders in the multi-institutional Core EPA8 pilot workgroup developed a longitudinal patient handover UME curriculum that was implemented at two pilot institutions. Materials and Methods We utilized multi-school graduation questionnaire data to assess the association of our patient handover curriculum on self-reported frequency of observation/feedback and skill acquisition by comparing data from the shared curriculum schools to data from other Core EPA pilot schools (three schools with school-specific curriculum; five without a dedicated handover curriculum). Questionnaire data from 1,278 graduating medical students of the class of 2020 from all ten Core EPA pilot schools were analyzed. Results Graduates from the two medical schools that implemented the shared patient handover curriculum reported significantly greater frequency of handover observation/feedback compared to graduates at the other schools (school-specific curriculum (p < .05) and those without a handover curriculum (p < .05)). Graduates from the two shared approach schools also more strongly agreed that they possessed the skill to perform handovers compared to graduates from the other eight pilot schools that did not implement this curriculum. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that the implementation of a multi-institutional Core EPA-based curricular model for teaching and assessing patient handovers was successful and could be implemented at other UME institutions.

Automated summary

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a multi-institutional patient handover curriculum on observation/feedback frequency and skill acquisition for graduating medical students. The study found that graduates from institutions that implemented the shared curriculum had higher frequency of handover observation/feedback and stronger confidence in their handover skills.