Impact Of Exercise Prescription Education On Medical Student Confidence And Knowledge In Generating Exercise Recommendations

Nathaniel Kern ATC, CSCS, Gabrielle Pancio BA, Nethra Ankam MD, Xiao Chi Zhang MD, MS PURPOSE: Physical activity is critical to health maintenance and primary disease prevention. However, medical schools do not provide sufficient education on exercise interventions to medical students. As a result, graduating students lack confidence and knowledge in counseling patients on exercise prescription. We generated a supplemental course on exercise prescription to investigate if fitness education could bolster medical students’ confidence and knowledge in generating exercise prescription recommendations for patients. METHODS: First year medical students at Sidney Kimmel Medical College attended a two-hour course on exercise prescription and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) physical activity guidelines. The gamified course featured case-based learning; students were introduced to fitness-related health issues and discussed how to leverage exercise for various patient populations. Cases were supplemented with free-weight and aerobic equipment at the university’s fitness center to further explore the ACSM guidelines, and how equipment can be adapted based on functional status to meet fitness goals. Students’ confidence and knowledge on exercise prescription were assessed before and after the session via Likert scale and multiple-choice questions, respectively. The survey was distributed to first year medical students who did not participate in the course for confidence and knowledge comparison. RESULTS: Self-reported confidence was significantly greater than pre-session (p = 0.034, n = 19) and greater than course non-participants (p = 0.005) based on self-reported Likert scale data (Table 1). Students’ knowledge increased and was significantly higher than course non-participants (p = 0.018) based on results of multiple-choice assessment. CONCLUSIONS: A gamified and case-oriented educational intervention can raise medical students' confidence in making exercise recommendations and increase their knowledge on basic exercise prescription principles. Table 1: Ratings of Intervention Related Statements Pre/Post Course Surveys – Rated on 5-point Likert Scale.