Use of clerkship learning objectives by members of the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry.
OBJECTIVE
The authors aimed to determine the extent and use of the 1995 psychiatry clerkship goals and objectives published by the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP) and to obtain members' guidance regarding their proposed revision.


METHODS
ADMSEP members were surveyed regarding their awareness and current use of the objectives, their advantages and disadvantages, and suggestions for revision.


RESULTS
Fifty-four of approximately 130 members returned surveys, including 60% of members who identified as clerkship directors. Ninety percent of respondents were aware of the objectives and 48% used them. Use was significantly related to years of ADMSEP membership. Those who used the objectives did so moderately or extensively, and 84% found them moderately to very useful. Reasons for nonuse were the employment of other objectives, unawareness of them, too lengthy/not user-friendly, and lack of resources to implement them. Comprehensiveness and specificity were cited as both their most useful aspects and their least useful aspects. The most frequently suggested revisions included prioritization, adding more clinical competencies, decreasing the total number, and developing supporting documents such as clinical cases, references, sample examinations, and a resource manual. Respondents held strongly favorable attitudes regarding the utility of learning objectives.


CONCLUSIONS
The ADMSEP psychiatry clerkship learning objectives were widely but not uniformly used among members surveyed, and use is significantly related to years of membership. Respondents strongly favor using learning objectives and desire that a new iteration of the document be more user-friendly, oriented to competencies, and supported by resource materials.
Brodkey
Amy C
AC
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Departmen tof Psychiatry, Philadelphia, PA, USA. brodkeya@verizon.net
Sierles
Frederick S
FS
Woodard
John L
JL
D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003162:Competency-Based Education; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008486:Physician Executives; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires