(A1024) Self-Paced Sinusitis Educational Module for Medical Students: Improving Otolaryngology Knowledge for All Future Specialties

Introduction: A quarter of adult and half of pediatric primary care visits are ENT-related, but most medical schools lack an ENT curriculum, contributing to future primary care physician unfamiliarity with basic ENT clinical practice guidelines. This study aims to assess and enhance medical students’ exposure to a common ENT complaint, sinusitis, through an online learning module.

Methods: In December 2024, a REDCap survey was administered to students at one medical school, comprising a demographic survey, 10 pre-education sinusitis questions, an educational module, and the same 10 sinusitis questions post-education. The primary outcome was difference in scores for pre- and post-education surveys, assessed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

Results: Of the 18 students who completed the module, most were third-year (N=11, 61.1%) medical students. Half had no ENT exposure while others reported 2-week electives (N=5, 27.8%), 4-week electives (N=1, 5.6%), operating room shadowing (N=6, 33.3%), and interest group membership (N=6, 33.3%). Most completed all core clerkships (N=17, 94.4%) and both Step1 and Step2 exams (N=11, 61.1%). Specialty interests included ENT (N=3, 16.7%) internal medicine (N=2, 11.1%), and emergency medicine (N=2, 11.1%). Median module completion time was 13.8 (IQR: 11.6-16.4) minutes. Median scores were 80% (IQR: 62.5-87.5) pre-education and 100% (IQR: 90-100) post-education, exhibiting a significant increase (p <.001).

Conclusions: Despite students having completed most core clerkships and at least one USMLE board exam, there was room for improvement in their baseline understanding of sinusitis. A brief educational adjunct significantly increased sinusitis knowledge for students entering various future specialties without imposing a substantial time burden on clerkship directors or students.