Enhancing Class Culture: Assessing and Improving the Impact of the "Thriving Together" Workshop for Dalhousie Medical Students

Introduction Collaboration and collegiality in medical school benefit students' experiences and contribute to improved patient care. Learning environments have the potential to foster competition and discourage collaboration. Thriving Together was created to address class dynamics and culture early in medical training. Objective The objective of the study is to thoroughly evaluate the Thriving Together Workshop. Methods The Thriving Together workshop, led by upper-year students, comprises a presentation on class culture, anonymous polling, and small-group case-based exercises. It concludes with a large-group discussion. Pre- and post-workshop survey results were collected via Opinio software. A basic statistical and thematic analysis was conducted to identify response themes. Results The post-workshop survey response rate was 29 out of 41 attendees (70.7%) in 2022 and 20 out of 55 attendees (36.4%) in 2023. Forty-eight (96.6%) respondents would recommend the workshop to next year's medical cohort, and 44 (89.8%) were interested in a follow-up workshop. Qualitative comments were positive, with feedback focused on attendance, group randomization, and the need for formal resources and post-workshop follow-up. Conclusion The Thriving Together workshop has a positive impact on class culture as evidenced by voluntary attendance and positive survey responses. Strategies to improve attendance will be implemented for upcoming sessions and will focus on refining the workshop to encourage inter-group interactions. In addition, formal resources will be provided to those interested. These adjustments aim to sustain the positive impact of the Thriving Together initiative on medical school culture.