Effect of medical students' experiences with residents as teachers on clerkship assessment

We assessed the impact of resident teaching in medical students' overall assessment of an obstetrics and gynecology clerkship.

Between September 2007 and March 2010, third-year medical students completed a questionnaire at the end of their clerkship. Questions covered the number of topics they recalled learning about from residents, perceptions of the quality of education received from residents, perceptions of the experience with the residents as teachers, and overall rating of the obstetrics and gynecology clerkship.

Questionnaires were completed by all medical students (N  =  74), with 63 students returning complete surveys. There was a small correlation between the number of topics students recalled learning about from residents and ratings of quality of education (r  =  0.249, P  =  .03), a small correlation between the number of topics students recalled learning about from residents and level of satisfaction with the clerkship (r  =  0.262, P  =  .04), and a larger correlation between assessment of the overall experience with residents as teachers and ratings of quality of education received from residents (r  =  0.687, P < .001). Overall experience with residents as teachers and perceived quality of education from residents were both associated with satisfaction with the clerkship (r  =  0.756, P < .001 and r  =  0.603, P < .001, respectively). A regression model with these variables accounted for 58% of the variability in students' ratings of the clerkship (F  =  27.103, P < .001, R  =  .761, R(2)  =  .579). The only significant independent variable was assessment of the overall experience with residents as teachers (t  =  5.350, P < .001).

Quality of interactions between residents and medical students is a key factor in medical students' assessment of their clerkship.