ASSESSING 3RD-YEAR MEDICAL-STUDENTS KNOWLEDGE OF AND EXPOSURE TO CLEFT-PALATE BEFORE AND AFTER PLASTIC-SURGERY ROTATION

The purpose of this study was to evaluate third-year medical students' knowledge of and exposure to cleft palate before and after a rotation in plastic surgery, A 26-item questionnaire was administered to 37 st udents before and after their 12-week rotation that included the evalu ation and management of patients with cleft palate, The questions addr essed various aspects of the disorder, including identification of the members of a cleft palate team, Students were also asked about their clinical and academic exposure to cleft palate, When the students' res ponses to the 19 basic information items about cleft palate and associ ated problems were compared before and after the rotation, positive ch anges were documented for 14 of the 19 questions, minimal negative cha nges for 4, and no change for 1 question, The overall percentage of st udents indicating any type of clinical or academic exposure to cleft p alate increased significantly after the rotation, Findings from this s tudy suggest that an undergraduate clinical rotation in plastic surger y can increase the knowledge of and exposure to cleft palate, It was c lear that supplemental learning can occur in other settings outside th e classroom through interactions between faculty and students without additional curricular time.