Perceptions and attributions of third-year student struggles in clerkships: do students and clerkship directors agree?
OBJECTIVE
To explore the congruence between students' and clerkship directors' perceptions and attributions of students' struggles during the transition to clerkships.


METHODS
Focus groups and interviews were conducted with third- and fourth-year medical students and clerkship directors at 10 U.S. medical schools in 2005 and 2006. Schools were selected to represent diverse locations, sizes, and missions. Interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically.


RESULTS
Students' struggles included understanding roles and responsibilities, adjusting to clinical cultures, performing clinical skills, learning the logistics of clinical settings, and encountering frequent changes in staff, settings, and content. Clerkship directors recognized students' struggles with roles and responsibilities, performing clinical skills, and adjusting to clinical cultures, but they also focused on students' difficulties applying knowledge to clinical reasoning and engaging in self-directed learning.


CONCLUSIONS
Clerkship directors and students recognize many challenges associated with learning and performing in the clerkships. Students' perspectives suggest that these challenges may be more complex than clerkship directors and clinical teachers realize and/or are capable of addressing. The areas in which clerkship directors' and students' perspectives are not congruent point to directions for future research that can guide curricula and teaching strategies.
O'Brien
Bridget
B
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stanford, California 94305, USA. OBrien@carnegiefoundation.org
Cooke
Molly
M
Irby
David M
DM
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002140:California; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004501:Education, Medical; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D010465:Perception; D012107:Research Design; D013038:Specialization; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires