Do clerkship experiences affect medical students' attitudes toward chronically ill patients?

To measure changes in medical students' attitudes toward chronically ill patients, and to identify experiences, specifically during clerkships, that contributed to students' attitudes.

A cohort of students from five U.S. medical schools voluntarily participated in three surveys longitudinally administered before and after required clinical rotations. The first two questionnaires were identical and asked for demographic information and pre-matriculation experiences with chronically ill patients. The third was modified to include questions about clinical experiences with chronically ill patients. Responses from the first and third questionnaires were linked for analysis.

A total of 502 of 695 students (69%) completed both the first and the third questionnaires. Many students (36%) had had pre-matriculation experiences with chronic illness. After clinical training, 25% of the respondents stated that they would seek another career specialty if the incidence of chronically ill patients increased in their chosen field, compared with the 9% who responded so before clinical training (p <.001). While 73% of the students had favorable perceptions toward chronically ill patients, and 91% felt involved in care, significantly fewer students (p <.01) had had positive patient care experiences when working with residents (57%) and attendings (59%). Gender, age, prior experiences, and school site were not associated with attitudinal changes.

Students begin medical school with positive attitudes toward caring for chronically ill patients, but this perception depreciates with clinical experience, which may affect specialty decisions. Contributing factors may include adequate role modeling by residents and attendings and a perceived discrepancy in the quality of care patients receive.