Medical students’ perceptions of an emergency medicine clerkship: an analysis of self-assessment surveys

ABSTRACT Objective: Emergency medicine is an evolving discipline in Canadian medical schools. Little has been published regarding student preferences for emergency medicine training during the clerkship phase of MD programs. We assessed medical students' perceptions of a newly developed emergency medicine clerkship rotation involving multiple learning modalities. The evaluation process included assessment of the rotation's instructional elements and overall educational value. Methods: The first cohort of medical students to complete this new emergency medicine clerkship was invited to answer a questionnaire just before graduation. Students rated their preferences for components of the rotation using paired comparisons. Open-ended questions explored students' satisfaction with the emergency medicine clerkship as well as perceptions of the rotation's impact on career development. Results: Of the 94 students in the first clerkship cohort, 81 (86%) responded to the survey. Students found the emergency medicine clerkship highly valuable, citing the broad range of cases seen, close supervision, and opportunities to develop clinical assessment, decision-making and procedural skills. Students' curricular preferences were for advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) (26.4%), clinical shifts (20.6%), supervised clinical shifts (17.8%), procedural skills laboratories (14.8%), tutorials (10.8%) and preceptor-assisted learning sessions (9.8%). Conclusion: This new emergency medicine clerkship program incorporated multiple learning methods within a 4-week rotation and was highly rated by students. Although clinical shifts and ACLS were generally preferred activities, students had varying individual preferences for specific learning activities. Multiple learning methods allowed all students to benefit from the rotation. This study makes a compelling case for including an emergency medicine rotation with multiple learning modalities as a core element of clerkship at every medical school.

Download Full-text

Teaching the RAPID approach at the start of emergency medicine clerkship: an evaluation

CJEM ◽

10.2310/8000.2013.131034 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 16 (04) ◽

pp. 273-280 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Robert A. Woods ◽

Krista Trinder ◽

Marcel D’Eon ◽

Sean McAleer

Keyword(s):

Emergency Medicine ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Comprehensive Care ◽

Exit Examination ◽

Self Assessment ◽

Medicine Clerkship ◽

Written Examination ◽

Emergency Department Patients ◽

The One

ABSTRACTBackground:The RAPID approach (Resuscitation, Analgesia and assessment, Patient needs, Interventions, Disposition) was developed as an approach to managing emergency department patients. It is a mental checklist to help trainees provide comprehensive care, addressing issues in priority. Its impact on trainee performance has not been assessed.Methods:Forty-two clerkship students were enrolled, with 21 students in each group. They received or did not receive the teaching intervention on an alternate basis. Students were assessed through daily encounter cards, a case presentation, a self-assessment form, a prerotation case (case E), and a sixcase short-answer exit examination (cases A to F) with case E repeated. Case E was designed specifically to assess students’ ability to provide comprehensive care. Fourteen students participated in focus groups.Results:Students in the intervention group had significantly higher exit examination case E scores (11.67 of 14 v. 10.26 of 14, p 5 0.008) and improvement in their case E scores from pre- to postrotation (1.82 v. 0.26, p 5 0.006). There were no significant differences in the other outcome measures. Intervention group students made positive comments around analgesia, addressing nonmedical needs and counseling on health promotion during focus groups.Conclusions:Students exposed to the RAPID approach at the start of their emergency medicine rotation performed better on the one component of the written examination for which it was designed to improve performance. Students found it to be a useful mental checklist for comprehensive care, possibly addressing the hidden curriculum. Emergency medicine educators should consider further study and careful implementation of the RAPID approach.

Download Full-text