Near-Peer-Teaching Revision Series During the COVID-19 Recovery Phase: An Experience From a UK Medical School

Background The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant disruption in clinical attachments for final-year medical students which can result in gaps in clinical knowledge and lower confidence levels. We developed a targeted near-peer-teaching (NPT) revision series to bridge this gap. Method A one-week virtual revision series was developed by the postgraduate doctors (PD and AT) and supervised by the final year written paper lead (NS) as per curriculum requirements. The series focused on eight key common clinical presentations. It was delivered via Leicester Medical School’s virtual platform by PD and AT a week before the finals. Multiple-choice surveys were sent out prior to the commencement of the series to gauge participation and baseline confidence. Surveys were also sent out before and after each session evaluating teaching, confidence levels, and improvement points. Results This NPT experience was the first comprehensive revision series during the COVID-19 recovery phase. Between 30 and 120 students attended each session. From the pre-series survey (n=63), almost all students indicated that their clinical attachments had been affected by the pandemic and that they (100%) would be interested in participating in the NPT series. From the post-session surveys, 93% of students reported that the session enhanced their confidence in recognizing and managing the clinical presentation, and 100% considered the quality of teaching to be good to excellent. From the post-series survey, a significant improvement was seen in confidence based on the Likert scale (from a combined 35% to 83%, pre, and post-series, respectively). Conclusion The series evaluation demonstrates that students found it a valuable experience and benefited from the social and cognitive congruence afforded by near-peer teachers. Furthermore, the results support the continued use and development of a virtual pre-exam revision series within the medical school curriculum as an adjunct to normal teaching.