Educational objectives for a junior psychiatry clerkship : development and rationale.

Explicit instructional objectives have become essential in medical education and have been developed nationally for students in surgery, gynecology, and pediatric clerkships. The authors describe the rationale for and process of developing psychiatry clerkship objectives, first at the Medical College of Pennsylvania (MCP) and then by the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry. Faculty interviews about the development of psychiatry clerkship objectives at MCP illustrate the objectives' positive educational impact.