Effect of early clinical exposure and near peer assisted learning combination program on attitudes of medical students towards basic sciences courses

This study aimed to assess the impact of early clinical exposure and near-peer assisted learning combination on recognition of clinical aspects of basic sciences for preclinical medical students.

In this translational (efficiency type) study, 59 Iranian medical students were selected to participate in clinical courses. An intern was in charge of mentoring to elaborate clinical aspects of basic sciences. During the clinical course, students faced several cases related to presented materials in order to perceive the role of previously learned topics in basic sciences courses. Finally, the students filled a validated and reliable questionnaire, which was designed to assess the level of satisfaction and effect of the program on students' attitude toward clinical usage of basic science courses. 

Participants in their feedback gave an overall rating of the satisfaction of program as high to very high. A majority (89%, n=42) of students stated that participating in this workshop results in increased motivation for studying and 97% (n=46) declared that these types of programs must be considered in the medical education curriculum. 

This study showed that a near-peer mentor can effectively accomplish the objectives of this project because of precedent dealing with similar issues. Designing a teaching strategy to fill the gap between the parts of the curriculum was the most prominent achievement of this study.