Student-led peer review of an online teaching file: perspectives after 2 years

Problem Opportunities for self-directed learning were missing from our medical school curriculum in general and on our radiology electives specifically. Our objective was to explore the feasibility and benefits of using medical students in the development of our student-created teaching files. Approach In 2018, a website was developed at our institution to support medical student radiology education and create a repository for the online publication of student-developed teaching cases. Students participating in radiology clerkships at our institution had an opportunity to submit case presentations for publication to our online teaching file following peer review. The medical students participated in the peer review process facilitated by the faculty director of radiology undergraduate medical education. The faculty member oversaw the training of new student editors and the development of a peer review guide. Outcomes The peer review guide included goals of the teaching file project and direction regarding the peer review process. Student editors were trained using the peer review guide in conjunction with individual meetings with the faculty mentor. At twenty-four months, 82 student-developed cases had been published to the online teaching file following medical student peer review. The teaching file had garnered 3884 page views. Next Steps The medical student-led peer review process meets core competencies in self-directed learning. The authors plan to explore the application of peer-assisted learning theories to the editing and peer-review process.