Introduction to the Laboratory and Blood Bank: Creation of a Resource for Third-Year Medical Students

Abstract

The transition between the pre-clinical and clinical years is an important and challenging step for medical students. Students must apply the knowledge learned during their preclinical years to novel situations while learning to interact with patients, families, and team members and how to utilize the resources and support systems available in the clinical environment. Despite being vital components of clinical care, exposure to the microbiology and pathology labs and blood bank is frequently limited prior to and during clerkships, thereby decreasing students’ opportunities to understand their role in a clinical setting and how to most appropriately utilize them in patient care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of focused education on the role of the microbiology lab, pathology lab, and blood bank in preparing medical students for clerkships. A pre-recorded module was created consisting of a video lecture that was delivered via Kaltura. The lecture covered information about the pathology and microbiology labs and the blood bank relevant to students entering the clinical environment, including what broadly occurs in the lab, when the lab may call providers, and when and how providers should call the lab. Medical students in the Indiana University School of Medicine rising third-year class (n = 336) completed the module as a component of the Transitions 2 course in the latter half of April 2024, which introduces students to the clinical environment prior to clerkships and bridges the gap between pre-clinical and clinical education. The module was required pre-work before students completed a clinical case embedded within the Transitions 2 course. Students completed a pre- and post-quiz consisting of clinical scenarios commonly encountered in the clinical setting on clerkships. The effectiveness of the module was evaluated by comparing students’ pre- and post-quiz scores with Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Our results demonstrate that education on the microbiology and pathology labs and blood banks give students a foundation for their clerkships to better understand these resources and how to use them, which will hopefully facilitate their learning and functioning as team members and learners in the clinical environment.