The Carbon Footprint of Residency Interview Travel

ABSTRACT Background Over the last decade, medical student residency applicants have shown a substantial increase in the number of interviews attended, which is associated with a significant increase in travel. The carbon footprint associated with residency interviews has not been well documented prior to this investigation, and is a critical issue related to climate health. Objective The purpose of this study is to document the carbon footprint associated with travel to residency interviews of the applicants from a single institution. Methods Graduating medical students from the University of Michigan Medical School were surveyed in 2020 to gather information regarding travel related to residency interviews. A validated carbon emissions calculator was used to determine the associated carbon footprint. Results Response rate was 103 of 174 (59%). Average interviews per student across all specialties was 14.39 interviews per student. The overall class average for total carbon footprint per student was calculated as 3.07 metric tons CO2, making the class average carbon footprint per interview 0.21 metric tons CO2. If we extrapolate the results of our study to all residents, the resulting CO2 emissions approach 51 665 metric tons CO2 per year, which is equivalent to the amount of CO2 produced by 11 162 passenger cars in 1 year. Conclusions Medical education leaders could help reduce the carbon footprint by encouraging a reduction in number of in-person interviews attended by applicants.

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Medical Student Ophthalmic Knowledge Proficiency after Completing a Clinical Elective or an Online Course

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology ◽

10.1055/s-0040-1721069 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (02) ◽

pp. e255-e266

Author(s):

Jacob J. Abou-Hanna ◽

Jonah E. Yousif ◽

Ariane D. Kaplan ◽

David C. Musch ◽

Jonathan D. Trobe

Keyword(s):

Medical School ◽

Online Course ◽

Clinical Rotation ◽

University Of Michigan ◽

Written Examination ◽

Michigan Medical School ◽

The University ◽

Michigan Medical ◽

Online Group ◽

School Curricula

Abstract Background As more information is being packed into medical school curricula, mainstream medical topics legitimately receive more attention than specialty topics such as ophthalmology. However, general practitioners, as gatekeepers of specialty care, must attain competency in ophthalmology. We have investigated whether an online ophthalmology course alone would be noninferior to the same online course plus an in-person clinical elective in providing ophthalmic knowledge. Methods Students at the University of Michigan Medical School voluntarily enrolled in one of two groups: an Online Only group requiring satisfactory completion of an online course entitled “The Eyes Have It” (TEHI) or a Clinical + Online group requiring students to complete a 2-week clinical rotation and the TEHI online course. The outcome metric was the score on an independent 50-question written examination of ophthalmic knowledge. Students also completed a survey assessing confidence in managing ophthalmic problems. Results Twenty students in the Clinical + Online group and 59 students in the Online Only group completed the study. The Clinical + Online group slightly outscored the Online Only group (86.3 vs. 83.0%, p = 0.004). When the two outlier questions were removed from the analysis, there was no difference in mean scores between the two groups (85.8 vs. 85.4, p = 0.069). Students in the Clinical + Online group devoted 80 more hours to the experience than did the students in the Online Only group. The number of hours devoted to the course and interest in ophthalmology were weakly correlated with examination performance. After completion of the experiment, there was no difference in student-reported comfort in dealing with ophthalmic problems between the two groups. Conclusion The examination scores of the students who completed the in-person alone were only slightly inferior to those of the students who completed the in-person clinical elective and the online course. These results suggest that an online course alone may provide a satisfactory ophthalmic knowledge base in a more compact timeframe, an alternative that should have appeal to students who do not intend to pursue a career in ophthalmology.

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