title: Are fourth-year medical students effective teachers of the physical examination to first-year medical students?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine if fourth-year medical students are as effective as faculty in teaching the physical examination to first-year medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Stratified randomization of the first-year students.
  
  
  METHODS
  A public medical school.
  
  
  METHODS
  All 100 first-year medical students in one medical school class were randomly assigned (controlling for gender) to either a faculty or a fourth-year student preceptor for the Physical Examination Module.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The first-year students of faculty preceptors scored no differently on the written examination than the students of the fourth-year medical student preceptors (82.8% vs 80.3%, p = .09) and no differently on a standardized patient practical examination (95.5% vs 95.4%, p = .92). Also, the first-year students rated the two groups of preceptors similarly on an evaluation form, with faculty rated higher on six items and the student preceptors rated higher on six items (all p > .10). The fourth-year student preceptors rated the experience favorably.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fourth-year medical students were as successful as faculty in teaching first-year medical students the physical examination as measured by first-year student's performances on objective measures and ratings of teaching effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40536-0284, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Haist
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Fosson
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Brigham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010808:Physical Examination; D011231:Preceptorship; D013337:Students, Medical; D013663:Teaching