Effects of varying inpatient attending physician rotation length on medical students' and attending physicians' perceptions of teaching quality.
BACKGROUND
Patient care needs and work hour restrictions have altered inpatient internal medicine educational experiences.


OBJECTIVE
The goal is to compare different attending physician rotation lengths on medical students' and attending physicians' experiences.


METHODS
We studied clerkship students' evaluations (N= 86) and internal medicine attending surveys (N=21). We divided attending experiences into 2-week and 4-week rotations. We assessed exam scores and evaluations with 5-point Likert questions (5=strongly agree). Means were compared with t tests, Wilcoxon Ranked Sums, and logistic regression.


RESULTS
More than 90% of students and attending physicians responded. Students and attending physicians generally evaluated their 2- and 4-week experiences similarly. Attending physicians favored 4 weeks for evaluating students' performance (3.30 vs. 4.36, p<.01). Exam scores were similar in the 2- and 4-week student groups (M=78.2, SD=5.0 vs. 76.5, SD=8.5, p=.43).


CONCLUSIONS
Shorter rotations do not negatively impact students' experiences. Obtaining quality evaluations may be difficult for shorter rotations.
Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232, USA. elnickim@upmc.edu
D Michael
DM
Elnicki
Amanda
A
Cooper
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003625:Data Collection; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016015:Logistic Models; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012938:Social Perception; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013997:Time Factors; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance; D016526:Workload