Case-based exercises fail to improve medical students' information management skills: a controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
Tomorrow's physicians must learn to access, retrieve, integrate and apply current information into ambulatory patient encounters, yet few medical schools teach 'real time' information management.


METHODS
We compared two groups of clerkship students' information management skills using a standardized patient case. The intervention group participated in case-based discussions including exercises that required them to manage new information. The control group completed the same case discussions without information management exercises.


RESULTS
After five weeks, there was no significant difference between the control and intervention groups' scores on the standardized patient case. However, third rotation students significantly outperformed first rotation students.


CONCLUSIONS
Case-based exercises to teach information management failed to improve students' performance on a standardized patient case. Increased number of clinical rotations was associated with improved performance.
Chumley
Heidi S
HS
Department of Family Medicine, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, USA. hchumley@kumc.edu
Dobbie
Alison E
AE
Delzell
John E
JE
D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000555:Ambulatory Care Information Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000379:methods*; D003197:Computer Literacy; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D019451:Information Management / Q000193:education*; D007615:Kansas; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000193:education*; D018794:Problem-Based Learning / Q000592:standards*; D011361:Professional Competence; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012577:Schools, Medical