Time Management and Task Prioritization Curriculum for Pediatric and Internal Medicine Subinternship Students

As a physician, it is important to develop time management and task prioritization skills early to promote future career success. In medical education, there is minimal structured time to teach these skills prior to residency. Stephen Covey's Time Management Matrix Technique (TMMT) is one strategy that can be used to develop these skills. This technique categorizes tasks into a four-quadrant table based on importance and urgency. Using this technique as a model, the authors developed a workshop for medical students on an inpatient pediatric or internal medicine subinternship.

Prior to the workshop, students read an article and completed a survey and two self-directed exercises. The exercises asked students to create a list of tasks, develop an individualized TMMT model, and review specialty-specific patient cases. The workshop consisted of discussions on the presession work and group exercises on prioritizing tasks and responding to patient-related pages. Students evaluated the curriculum after the workshop with a survey.

Most participants (82%) strongly agreed or agreed that the workshop improved their ability to manage time effectively and prioritize tasks on a clinical rotation. There was a statistically significant increase in both median time management and task prioritization confidence scores after completion of the workshop (p < .05).

This workshop provides one strategy that can be implemented within undergraduate medical education to enhance time management skills prior to residency. Future studies should be aimed at evaluating these skills within the clinical setting.