Development of an Organ Donation and Transplantation Pathway of Excellence for Medical Students: Step 1, A Needs Assessment of Patients, Donors, and Families

Background: Organ donation and transplantation (ODT) is a lifesaving treatment where need exceeds supply. Barriers include limited ODT knowledge and comfort amongst physicians, and inadequate ODT education for medical students. Comprehensive curricular development beginning with a needs assessment of key stakeholders, including patients and donor families with lived experience, is crucial. This project aims to understand the needs of patients and donor families that will shape the development of an ODT ‘Pathway of Excellence’ for medical students.

Methods: Following Kern’s curricular design step 1, 17 Saskatchewan Transplant donors, recipients, and donor families participated in semi-structured zoom interviews. Qualitative thematic analysis using NVivo software identified common interview themes.

Results: Qualitative interviews revealed that medical knowledge and understanding and patient-centered communication are essential topics in ODT medical education. Medical-focused-competencies include kidney diseases and transplantation, patient processes, post-surgery care, and logistical and financial challenges. Patient-focused-competencies involve empathy and compassion, personal connection, clear communication, and advocacy. Both require engagement in practical experiences. These competencies were developed from many themes and sub-themes revealed in the needs assessment.

Conclusion: Medical knowledge and understanding and patient-centered communication are key competencies required to be knowledgeable in ODT. These findings will subsequently inform a medical education ‘Pathway of Excellence’.