House officers in general medicine: their perception of educational value of rotation components

As curriculum planners in general medicine residency training programmes we were concerned about house officers' anecdotal reports that hospital work requirements often overshadow individual learning goals. After each of five rotations, we asked residents to identify the educational 'usefulness' of certain rotation components which can be included in three categories; team members, work-related activities and educational events. Of 165 surveys distributed, 127 (77%) were returned. Data were analysed by residency year and by all years combined. The mean overall perception of learning was 3.9 out of a possible 5 points suggesting that residents do find some learning value. Results suggest that different residency years vary as to the significance of specific educational components. The importance of faculty/resident relationships to residents' perceptions of learning value was highlighted in particular.