The surgical clerkship experience: self, departmental, and institutional assessment

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent students' assessments of their clerkship experiences varied in relation to perceptions of self-improvement, the time of year in which the clerkship experience took place, and the origin of the assessment device (departmental versus institutional). All students enrolled in each of six surgery clerkship rotations over the course of 1 academic year (224 students) were administered two questionnaires on completion of the clerkship. One questionnaire was institutionally developed and supported, whereas the other was departmentally sponsored. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that (1) when students felt their medical skills had improved as a result of clerkship participation, the clerkship was considered of high quality; (2) students' perceived improvement in communication skills decreased as the academic year progressed; and (3) students did not alter their responses to the questionnaires based on whether the instrument was institutionally or departmentally sponsored.