Trends in undergraduate medical education: clinical clerkship learning objectives

To assist and inform the process of revising learning objectives for the psychiatry clerkship, a comprehensive review of the current state of learning objectives endorsed by national specialty organizations for core clinical clerkships was undertaken.

National specialty organizations that have developed and endorsed clerkship learning objectives were identified and learning objectives and support materials were reviewed.

All core clinical clerkships have learning objectives developed and endorsed by national specialty organizations. The format for organizing these learning objectives varies widely among specialties from lists of topics of interest to exhaustive curriculum resource guides. Most specialty clerkship learning objectives have undergone extensive revision since 2000 or are currently in the revision process. Comparisons and trends in specialty clerkship learning objectives and curriculum resources are discussed.

Revision of psychiatry clerkship learning objectives will benefit from adoption of features utilized by other specialties, including: prioritizing objectives; emphasizing contextual learning and skills mastery; linking learning objectives to support resources such as clinical cases, recommendations for instructional methodology, assessment strategies, and performance expectations; and shifting the focus of undergraduate psychiatry education beyond the clerkship to the entire four-year curriculum.