How Medical Students Benefit from Participating in a Longitudinal Resource Stewardship Medical Education Program (STARS): An International Descriptive Evaluation

Background

STARS (Students and Trainees Advocating for Resource Stewardship) is a medical student leadership program that promotes integration of resource stewardship (RS) into medical education in at least seven countries. Little is known about how participation affects student leaders.

Aim

To understand how partaking in STARS impacted participants’ knowledge, skills, and influenced career plans, and aspirations.

Setting and Participants

We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with STARS participants (n = 27) from seven countries.

Program Description

STARS was designed to facilitate grassroots efforts that embed RS principles into medical education. STARS programs globally share common features: participation from several medical schools, centralized organizing hubs and leadership summits, and support from faculty mentors. Students take lessons learnt from centralized programming to implement changes that advance RS initiatives at their schools.

Program Evaluation

Students finished STARS with better RS knowledge, enhanced change management skills (leadership, advocacy, collaboration), and a commitment to incorporate RS into future practice. Nearly all respondents hoped to pursue leadership activities in medicine, but most were unclear if they would focus efforts to advance RS.

Discussion

STARS participants gained knowledge as it relates to RS, change management skills, and catalyzed a commitment to incorporate high-value care into future practice. Medical education initiatives should be leveraged as a key strategic approach to build RS capacity.