Improving Medical Student Confidence Performing Skin Biopsies Through an Interactive Workshop

Introduction: At the University of Texas Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine, many students have expressed hesitancy in actively participating when a skin biopsy is needed at the community dermatology free clinic. To address this, we hosted a workshop where medical students could directly learn how to perform shave and punch biopsies from dermatology residents. Methods: A PowerPoint presentation covering the preparation, types, and aftercare of biopsies was given pre-workshop. Four dermatology residents were assigned to groups of students. During the workshop, students practiced the full procedure of performing a biopsy. Pre-and post-surveys were administered immediately and four months after the workshop. Qualitative responses were converted into a 4-point Likert scale, and a Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical analysis. Results: 26 student responses were collected immediately after, and 17 were collected four months after the workshop. There were significant increases in comfort assisting with performing skin biopsies (p <0.001), performing biopsies under supervision (p <0.001), and preparing for a biopsy (p <0.001) immediately and four months after the workshop. Additionally, there were significant increases in knowledge of the utility of biopsies (p <0.001) and the different biopsy types (p <0.001) immediately and four months after the workshop. The number of correct answers to the five-item knowledge quiz significantly increased (p <0.001) immediately and four months after the workshop. Conclusion: Our workshop improved student confidence in preparing for, assisting with, and performing skin biopsies and has demonstrated sustained efficacy.