Time allocation of students in basic clinical clerkships in a traditional curriculum

The objective of this study was to determine the amounts of time spent in various activities by medical students enrolled in basic clinical clerkships. In the fall of 1989, 80 third-year students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine recorded their time allocations in eight categories over 24 hours for three consecutive days. After personal time, the students spent the greatest amount of time in organized educational activities (rounds, conferences, lectures), followed in decreasing order by chartwork, patient contact, examination study, ancillary activities, procedures, and directed study. The students reported an average of 5.8 hours of sleep per night. The students reported that when they were on call, they had significant increases in patient contact, chartwork, and ancillary activities. The authors suggest that third-year students may spend too much of their time in organized educational activities, and may benefit educationally from increased amounts of patient contact and decreased amounts of ancillary activities. These data provide an opportunity for clerkship and curriculum organizers to analyze the efficacy of the basic clinical clerkships.