Impact of supplemental training programs on improving medical students' confidence in providing diabetes self-management education and support.

Background/purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of supplemental diabetes-related training modalities and volunteer activities in increasing first-year medical students' knowledge/comfort in providing diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) to patients.

Methods: A group of medical students developed supplemental diabetes-related training/volunteer programs. The training modalities included an optional 7-session interprofessionally taught Diabetes Enrichment Elective and a 3-hour endocrinologist-led training session intended to prepare students for involvement in an inpatient DSMES volunteer program.

A student-implemented elective to improve medical student confidence in providing diabetes self-management support.

Background: The purpose of this study was to develop a preclerkship elective and assess its effectiveness in supplementing medical students' education.

Methods: A group of medical students under the guidance of two faculty advisors developed an elective consisting of six sessions covering a variety of practical aspects of diabetes care/education taught by an interprofessional team. Following the course completion, a survey was emailed to the enrollees who attended at least one session.