title: Variation in faculty evaluations of clerkship students attributable to surgical service.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine whether students' performance evaluations by faculty were influenced by the clinical service on which the student was evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Third-year medical students spent 8 weeks rotating on 3 (or 2) surgical services. Typically, students rotate on one 4-week general surgery service and two 2-week subspecialty services. Faculty members rated student performance on 5 characteristics and provided a numeric grade. Data were analyzed to determine whether any significant variations in evaluation patterns emerged.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1033 evaluations were included in the analyses. Based on an analysis of variance, the numeric grade varied significantly by service (p < 0.001). The partial eta squared statistic was large (0.21). Ratings of students' performance on specific performance characteristics also varied significantly by service (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The assessment of a surgical student's clinical performance is influenced by the specific services on which he/she has rotated and may be related to the length of the rotation. Research is needed to determine whether the differences among services should be considered as a source of error in grading or considered to reflect the particular challenge of the service.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0298, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Plymale
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Donnelly
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Iocono
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Pulito
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000592:standards; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007629:Kentucky; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data