Objective:

To orient and increase confidence in presenting and managing common pathologies for third-year medical students (MS3s) on their NeuroICU rotation.

Background:

For many students, their week in the NeuroICU is their first and sometimes only exposure to critically ill patients. It can be a daunting task to approach neurocritical patients with problems in multiple systems in a concise manner.

Design/Methods:

We constructed a website featuring six common pathologies including management pearls, one liner examples, and templated examples of patient presentations. It also contained supplementary resources such as an improved rounding template, tips to shine during rounds, medical record customization, common acronyms, and quick pharmacologic references. The website was integrated at the beginning of the third-year NeuroICU rotation at University Hospital in July 2023. Pre- and post-surveys were distributed to assess utilization, level of confidence, readiness to present, and knowledge.

Results:

Of the 24 MS3 pre-surveys, 21 students were on their first ICU rotation. Students’ average comfort level for formulating a systems-based plan and presenting during rounds respectively were 2.4±0.9 (“somewhat uncomfortable”) and 2.7±1.1 (“neutral") on a Likert scale, which increased to 3.9±0.6 and 4.0±0.7 (“somewhat comfortable”) in the post-surveys. Readiness to present subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracerebral hemorrhage, complex ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, status epilepticus all increased in the post-surveys. Knowledge question scores increased from 41.38% to 56.67%. Utilization of the template was 88%, and 100% of students indicated that they would recommend this tool to future students.

Conclusions:

Our data show that this online tool is both utilized by and helpful to students. It successfully alleviates some of the discomfort and labor inherent to frequent site changes during clinical rotations, while also offering a concise orientation to neurocritical patients. Future project goals include continual data collection throughout this academic year, broadening of pathologies and resources, and availability to other teaching hospitals.