title: Medical education in the United States: do residents feel prepared?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Medical schools face a growing challenge in providing a comprehensive educational experience. Students must graduate with not only the medical knowledge but also the requisite skills to care for patients and serve as physicians-in-training.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether residents felt prepared by their medical school training.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed a questionnaire to assess resident attitudes towards various aspects of their medical school training and electronically distributed it among 107 United States training institutions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 2287 residents responded. Overall, a majority (53.8 %) agreed that 'medical school prepared me well to be a resident.' Most residents felt very well or mostly prepared in medical knowledge and clinical skills such as collecting a history (92.3 %), presenting a physical exam (86.1 %), or pathophysiology (81.6 %), but not for applied medical and psychosocial practices including end-of-life care (41.7 %), dealing with a patient death (46.3 %), and considering cost-effective care (28.7 %). Additionally, many residents reported feeling underprepared for time and fatigue management, debt, and medical-legal issues.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical school graduates generally feel well prepared for residency. However, they may be less prepared to face important psychosocial, cultural and professional issues. Ultimately, a greater emphasis on skills and psychosocial experience may yield graduates who feel better prepared for today's residency challenges.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. chen_chen@hms.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Chen Amy
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck St, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Dylan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kotliar
authors.affiliation: Rhode Island Hospital, 2 Dudley St, COOP 500, Providence, RI, 02903, USA.
authors.forename: Brian C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Drolet