Assessing Volunteer Preceptor Attitudes Regarding Continuity of OB-GYN Clerkship Clinical Experiences

Learners in inpatient learning environments with frequent transitions can result in decreased valuation of relationship-building and can contribute to lack of ownership in patient care. Faculty involved with longitudinal clerkships have stronger relationships with students and improved job satisfaction. This project aimed to assess preceptors' attitudes before and after reformatting the structure of the clinical component of the Obstetrics & Gynecology rotation to have continuity of students in private clinics.

This project utilized cross-sectional surveys administered to a convenience sample of volunteer faculty affiliated with The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, Kansas Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Survey questions included demographics, attitudes regarding student integration into clinical settings and continuity of educational interactions. The survey was administered before standardizing the clerkship (pre-survey) and 6 months after implementation (post-survey).

Fifteen pre-surveys and six post-surveys were completed. Compared to 40% (n = 6) in the pre-survey, 50% of post-survey respondents (n = 3) agreed with the statement that having the same student in clinic would decrease their clinic efficiency. More respondents disagreed that having the same student in clinic required a large time commitment, 83.3% (n = 5) post-survey compared to 46.7% (n = 7) pre-survey. All respondents agreed having the same student during the entirety of a clerkship allowed the faculty member to better integrate them into the care team.

Continuity of medical students in clinic may subjectively reduce clinic workflow efficiency, however students were better integrated into the care team and clinical activities, and preceptors reported that it did not require a large time commitment.