A national study of required family medicine clinical rotations

The authors collected information from each family medicine department with a required clinical rotation. Timing of such rotations are predominantly during the third year (56%), using a combination of family practice centers and community preceptor sites. Formal didactic instructions are offered for a mean of 28 hours. This instruction is offered in combinations of introductory, weekly, and terminal didactic blocks. Most programs (68%) assign reading from an article file, and 51% develop their own examinations. Clinical evaluations represent the largest portion (61%) of final grades, with 30% coming from examinations and lesser amounts from home visits, student presentations, etc. The implications of these findings are discussed.