CL-09: PECEIVED IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY SERVICE AMONGST MEDICAL TRAINEES: A CV ANALYSIS OF PRIORITIES.
Laura Zuccaro, MD, Nima Nahiddi, MD, Yvonne Ying, MD, Med, FRCSC; University of Ottawa
Background: Health advocacy and community service are considered laudable activities that should be encouraged amongst medical trainees. This studyâs objective is to better understand how residentsâ awareness and prioritization regarding health advocacy and community service changes throughout their medical training.
Methods: First year medical students and first and final year residents completed surveys examining their opinions on health advocacy. Participantsâ CVs were also collected and categorized to determine the priority of their activities during training. These categorizations were analyzed using SPSS software
Results: Most residents (90-94%) understood the importance of health advocacy, but self-reported engagement decreased from 72-74% during medical school to 26%-39% during residency. Participantsâ CVs showed that community outreach activities decreased from 22% in the first year of medicine to 2% for final year residents, while research allocation increased from 3% to 15%
Conclusions: Trainees are aware of the importance of health advocacy. However, this was not reflected in their practice. There was a continual decrease in participation in community outreach as student progress through medical training. Community outreach activities decreased, and research-related activities increased as trainees transitioned from pre-medicine through residency. By stressing research-oriented activities, traineesâ CVs continue to emphasize traditionally recognized roles.