Association of third-year medical students' first clerkship with overall clerkship performance and examination scores.
BACKGROUND
Anecdotal experience has suggested that third-year medical students whose first clerkship is internal medicine may have superior performance throughout the academic year.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the order of clerkships by specialty is associated with student performance.


METHODS
Clerkship performance records of medical students at all 4 campuses of the University of Illinois College of Medicine who completed their third-year core clerkships from July 2000 through June 2008 (N = 2236) were reviewed.


METHODS
Analysis of covariance was used to test for between-group differences (by first clerkship) in mean National Board of Medical Examiners subject examination scores (range, 0-100), preceptor ratings of clerkship clinical performances (range, 12-30), total overall clerkship grades (range, 12-30), and United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 2 scores, adjusted for sex, campus, and USMLE Step 1 score.


RESULTS
First clerkship specialty was significantly associated with mean subject examination scores (family medicine, 71.96 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 70.90-72.98], internal medicine, 73.86 [95% CI, 73.33-74.39], obstetrics/gynecology, 72.36 [95% CI, 71.64-73.04], pediatrics, 73.11 [95% CI, 72.38-73.84], psychiatry, 72.17 [95% CI, 71.52-72.81], surgery, 72.37 [95% CI, 71.73-73.02]; P < .001) and overall clerkship grades (family medicine, 24.20 [95% CI, 23.90-24.90], internal medicine, 25.33 [95% CI, 25.07-25.60], obstetrics/gynecology, 24.68 [95% CI, 24.32-25.05], pediatrics, 24.92 [95% CI, 24.59-25.27], psychiatry, 24.61 [95% CI, 24.33-25.01], surgery 24.97 [95% CI, 24.64-25.30]; P = .01). There was no significant association with preceptor ratings or USMLE Step 2 scores. Pairwise comparisons for mean total overall clerkship grades showed a significant difference for students taking internal medicine first compared with obstetrics/gynecology (mean difference, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.18-1.12), psychiatry (mean difference, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.20-1.12), and family medicine (mean difference, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.37-1.50).


CONCLUSIONS
Among students at 4 campuses of a US medical school, clerkship order was significantly associated with performance on clerkship subject examinations and overall grades but not with clerkship clinical performance or USMLE Step 2 scores.
Kies
Susan M
SM
University of Illinois College of Medicine, 255 Medical Sciences Bldg M/C 714, 506 S Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. kies@illinois.edu
Roth
Valerie
V
Rowland
Michelle
M
D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000592:standards*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois; D008297:Male; D008511:Medicine; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*