How required US family medicine clerkships and preceptorships evaluate medical students.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing representation of family medicine among required clinical experiences in medical school, relatively little has been written about how students are evaluated on these experiences. This survey reports on evaluation methods used on US family medicine clerkships/ preceptorships and educator satisfaction with these methods. METHODS: Information was obtained by a survey mailed to the directors of all required allopathic family medicine clinical rotations (n = 69). RESULTS: Ninety-one percent of sites contacted returned the survey. Forty-seven percent of family medicine required clinical rotations are 6 weeks or longer, and 71% occur in the third year of medical school. The clinical grade contributes an average of 60% to the final grade, while other assignments contribute 21% to the grade. Fifty-two percent of respondents indicated "moderate or less" overall satisfaction with their current evaluation methodologies. CONCLUSIONS: Among institutions with required family medicine clerkships/preceptorships, this survey documents a trend toward these experiences occurring in the third year of medical school and lasting 6 weeks or more. In addition to traditional evaluation methodologies, other assignments contribute substantially to the overall grade on required family medicine rotations. The overall lack of satisfaction with current evaluation methodologies highlights the need for information sharing and networking among those who develop and implement evaluation methods on family medicine clerkships and preceptorships.