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Challenges of multisite surgical teaching programs: a review of surgery clerkship
1Department of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. vkng@uwo.ca
Objective:
As the enrollment in medical schools increases, the need for affiliated sites to participate in clerkship teaching will continue. The aim of this literature review was to provide a summary of measures that have been used to compare the training in affiliated community hospital sites with the tertiary teaching hospitals.
Methods:
An extensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE. A total of 386 articles were identified, of which 20 were found to be relevant to this topic. The references of those articles were also consulted and were included in the preparation of this manuscript when deemed appropriate.
Results:
A significant difference does not seem to exist in either written examination or clinical performance evaluations among medical students who receive training at either tertiary care teaching hospitals or affiliated community hospital sites. Positive role models are important in influencing the choice of a surgical career, regardless of where clerkship training takes place.
Conclusions:
Although more research is merited in this area, the current evidence suggests that affiliated sites are comparable in their ability to train medical students during their surgical clerkship.