Remediation practices in Canadian psychiatry clerkships

There is a lack of information regarding interventions for undergraduate students at Canadian medical schools who require remediation during their psychiatric training. The need for a theoretical framework to guide remediation has been identified. In this study, we sought to characterize remediation taking place in undergraduate psychiatry education, particularly during clerkship. A secondary goal was to ascertain whether those responsible for remediation were aware of the stages of change (transtheoretical) model, and whether they formally incorporated this framework (or another) into their remediation processes.

A short six-question survey on remediation practices was e-mailed to educators responsible for undergraduate psychiatry education at all 17 Canadian medical schools as identified through the Canadian Organization of Undergraduate Psychiatry Educators (COUPE).

The response rate was 67 %. Respondents' overall impressions of their school's remediation process were that it was "highly effective" (25 %), or "somewhat effective" (67 %); 8 % reported being unsure of its effectiveness. While 75 % of survey respondents were aware of the stages of change model, only 17 % reported using this framework: no alternate theoretical frameworks were reported.

The most common form of evaluation was multiple-choice question (MCQ) exams, and the most common form of remediation was exam rewrites. There is little information regarding the long-term outcomes of remediation, and further research would be useful in formulating recommendations regarding best practices.