Thomas Gallagher, Jan Munro, and Leslie Kahl.
Teaching and Learning in Medicine
Winter 2005, Vol. 17, Issue #1, pg. 80-84.
Review by: Linda Heun, Ph.D. <lheun@aacom.org>
The authors describe the implementation of a counseling hotline for students on clinical rotations to help the cope with stress and feelings of lack of connection to their medical school. They acknowledge other attempts at stress reduction and cite unclear outcomes. Outcomes of the first year of implementation of a hotline are described.
By letter (including a laminated informational pocket card) and face-to-face introduction at a pizza party, a masters-trained counselor was introduced to students at the beginning of the third year (also reintroduced by e-mail and presentations). The counselor was available for student calls 24-7 for the entire year. The hotline was evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively by questions in the regular year-end survey and an open-ended comment section, as well as a content log kept of every call.
Outcome data revealed that over 10% of third year students accessed the hotline. The authors provide an excellent discussion of the challenges of setting up, publicizing, and reaching a balance of confidentiality and responsibility regarding student concerns.
For more information about this article and author(s), visit the Teaching and Learning in Medicine website.
Articles from Teaching and Learning in Medicine