Ting Dong1, Annesley Copeland2, Matthew Gangidine3, Deanna Schreiber-Gregory4, E Matthew Ritter2, Steven J Durning4. 1. Department of Medicine, USUHS, Bethesda, Maryland. Electronic address: ting.dong.ctr@usuhs.edu. 2. Department of Surgery, USUHS/Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland. 3. Department of Emergency Medicine, Wright State University, Kettering, Ohio. 4. Department of Medicine, USUHS, Bethesda, Maryland.
Abstract
PURPOSE: We conducted an in-depth empirical investigation to achieve a better understanding of the surgery clerkship from multiple perspectives, including the influence of clerkship sequence on performance, the relationship between self-logged work hours and performance, as well as the association between surgery clerkship performance with subsequent USMLE Step exams' scores. METHOD: The study cohort consisted of medical students graduating between 2015 and 2018 (n = 687). The primary measures of interest were clerkship sequence (internal medicine clerkship before or after surgery clerkship), self-logged work hours during surgery clerkship, surgery NBME subject exam score, surgery clerkship overall grade, and Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3 exam scores. We reported the descriptive statistics and conducted correlation analysis, stepwise linear regression analysis, and variable selection analysis of logistic regression to answer the research questions. RESULTS: Students who completed internal medicine clerkship prior to surgery clerkship had better performance on surgery subject exam. The subject exam score explained an additional 28% of the variance of the Step 2 CK score, and the clerkship overall score accounted for an additional 24% of the variance after the MCAT scores and undergraduate GPA were controlled. CONCLUSION: Our finding suggests that the clerkship sequence does matter when it comes to performance on the surgery NBME subject exam. Performance on the surgery subject exam is predictive of subsequent performance on future USMLE Step exams.
PURPOSE: We conducted an in-depth empirical investigation to achieve a better understanding of the surgery clerkship from multiple perspectives, including the influence of clerkship sequence on performance, the relationship between self-logged work hours and performance, as well as the association between surgery clerkship performance with subsequent USMLE Step exams' scores. METHOD: The study cohort consisted of medical students graduating between 2015 and 2018 (n = 687). The primary measures of interest were clerkship sequence (internal medicine clerkship before or after surgery clerkship), self-logged work hours during surgery clerkship, surgery NBME subject exam score, surgery clerkship overall grade, and Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3 exam scores. We reported the descriptive statistics and conducted correlation analysis, stepwise linear regression analysis, and variable selection analysis of logistic regression to answer the research questions. RESULTS: Students who completed internal medicine clerkship prior to surgery clerkship had better performance on surgery subject exam. The subject exam score explained an additional 28% of the variance of the Step 2 CK score, and the clerkship overall score accounted for an additional 24% of the variance after the MCAT scores and undergraduate GPA were controlled. CONCLUSION: Our finding suggests that the clerkship sequence does matter when it comes to performance on the surgery NBME subject exam. Performance on the surgery subject exam is predictive of subsequent performance on future USMLE Step exams.
Keywords:
Clerkship sequence; Interpersonal and Communication Skills; Medical Knowledge; NBME Subject Exam; Patient Care; Practice Based Learning and Improvement; Professionalism; Systems-Based Practice; USMLE Step Exams; Work hours
Authors: Matthew Fitz; William Adams; Marc Heincelman; Steve Haist; Karina Whelan; LeeAnn Cox; Uyen-Thi Cao; Susan Hingle; Amanda Raff; Bruce Houghton; Janet Fitzpatrick; Ryan Nall; Jennifer Foster; Jonathan Appelbaum; Cyril Grum; Anna Donovan; Stuart Kiken; Reeni Abraham; Marti Hlafka; Chad Miller; Saurabh Bansal; Douglas Paauw; Cindy J Lai; Amber Pincavage; Gauri Agarwal; Cynthia Burns; Horatio Holzer; Katie Lappé; Viju John; Blake Barker; Nina Mingioni; Deepti Rao; Laura Zakowski; Chayan Chakraborti; Winter Williams; William Kelly Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2022-06-28 Impact factor: 6.473