Revealing the Hidden Clerkship Curriculum: A Qualitative Analysis

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Research
• Family Medicine Training
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• Family medicine clerkships have defined learning objectives.
• The explicit curriculum may not capture all student takeaways.
• Exploring the hidden curriculum is crucial for comprehensive training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the explicit and hidden curriculum of family medicine clerkships.
• To identify student-identified learning points beyond stated objectives.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of 668 student reflections from two institutions.
• Students listed their top five take-home points post-clerkship.

Main Results:

• Thirteen code categories emerged, including scope of practice, healthcare systems, doctor traits, values, cultural competency, challenges, evidence-based medicine, clinical skills, personal impact, life skills, patient-centeredness, and clinical pearls.
• Key subcategories were prevention, team-based care, doctor-patient relationship, and continuity of care.
• Traits of a family doctor, challenges in FM care, personal impact, and life skills were identified as significant hidden curriculum components.

Conclusions:

• Family medicine clerkships can improve messaging on the challenges within the field.
• The study highlights areas where the explicit curriculum could be enhanced to better align with student learning.
• Findings support initiatives aimed at increasing the number of family physicians, such as the 25 x 2030 initiative.