Millennial Medical Students' Educational Expectations of Anesthesia Clerkships

The unique characteristics of the millennial generation has promulgated changes in the workplace and in academia. A lack of national standards necessitates that anesthesia faculty create educational content for anesthesia clerkships. Assessing expectations before an anesthesia rotation would provide data to accommodate millennial medical students' needs and preferences for learning.

A 16-question survey using Qualtrics software was created, with input from millennial medical students, to query preclinical medical students at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine on their educational expectations of an anesthesia clerkship.

Seventy-four surveys were completed, with 34 (46%) of 74 from first-year and 40 (54%) of 74 from second-year medical students. Daily feedback (44 [59%] of 74) and written exams (43 [58%] of 74) were preferred methods of evaluation. No lectures, observing in an operating room, and performing procedures on real patients were the preferred format for instruction. Two (23 [31%] or 74) to 3 (33 [45%] of 74) weeks was the preferred duration of an anesthesia rotation.

This study demonstrates that millennial medical students have preconceived educational expectations of an anesthesia clerkship, and identifies learning preferences that differ from the implemented anesthesia curriculum currently described in the literature.