Special Section: Sleep Medicine Education based on the NIH Sleep Academic Award Program The effects of an intervention to teach medical students about obstructive sleep apnea * K.K. Papp * , K.P. Strohl Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA Received 30 March 2004; received in revised form 22 July 2004; accepted 22 July 2004 Abstract Background and purpose: To assess the effects of teaching clinically relevant core concepts about obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to third-year core clerkship students in internal medicine. Patients and methods: The curriculum included a lecture and case-based discussions about OSA at one clerkship site consisting of six groups of core clerkship students in the graduating Classes of 2000 and 2001 at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Students who received exposure to a lecture followed by case-based discussions (nZ130) were compared to students at clerkship sites who did not (nZ129). Outcomes were measured using a station on the required end-of-rotation Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), consisting of 13 items and 36 points. Results: When compared to groups of students who did not have a scheduled lecture and case-based discussions, those who did scored significantly higher (P%0.016) on a station measuring these competencies. Groups were compared in terms of performance on subscores of the OSCE and scores overall; no significant differences were found. Conclusions: Our preliminary findings suggest that teaching third-year medical students information on OSA using a lecture- and case- based discussion makes a difference to a clerkship OSCE station assessing these competencies. Published by Elsevier B.V. Keywords: Obstructive sleep apnea; Hypopnea; Medical education 1. Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disorder character- ized by intermittent, complete or partial airway collapse during sleep, which results in episodes of apnea and hypopnea [1]. These pauses in breathing may cause multiple adverse effects, such as oxyhemoglobin desaturation, fluctuations in blood pressure and heart rate, increased sympathetic activity, cortical arousal, which results in sleep fragmentation [2]. Large population studies in different countries during the last decade have contributed to our understanding of the prevalence of this disorder. These studies have demonstrated that OSA is highly prevalent in adults [2]. Approximately 1 in 5 adults has mild OSA, and 1 in 15 has moderate or severe forms of this disorder [2]. Moreover, epidemiologic studies also show that 80–90% of cases remain undiagnosed [3]. This estimate is cause for concern given that the condition may be life-threatening and diagnostic strategies and effective interventions are available. Several studies have assessed the depth and breadth of topics taught in sleep and sleep disorders in medical schools [4,5]. There has been a call for an integrated knowledge system in sleep and chronobiology across the entire spectrum of medical education [6]. Our purpose is to assess the effects of teaching third-year core clerkship students in internal medicine clinically relevant core concepts about OSA. A secondary goal of 1389-9457/$ - see front matter Published by Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2004.07.014 Sleep Medicine 6 (2005) 71–73 www.elsevier.com/locate/sleep * This work was funded by a Sleep Academic Award of the National Institutes of Health-The National Heart Blood and Lung Institutes (NHLBI HL-03650). * Corresponding author. Address: Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) 111 C(W), 10701 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. Tel.: C1 216 791 3800x5875; fax: C1 216 707 5973. E-mail address: klara.papp@med.va.gov (K.K. Papp).