title: Neurology clerkship goals and their effect on learning and satisfaction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To define medical student goals in the neurology clerkship and explore the association between goal setting and student performance, clerkship satisfaction, self-directed learning (SDL), and interest in neurology.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 4-year prospective study of consecutive second- to fourth-year medical students rotating through a required 4-week neurology clerkship was conducted. A goal-generating cohort (first 2 years) was enrolled to describe the breadth of student-derived goals. A goal-evaluating cohort (second 2 years) was used to evaluate the frequency of goal achievement and assess associations with performance (e.g., National Board of Medical Examiners [NBME], examination), satisfaction, and SDL behaviors (both based on 5-point Likert scale).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 440 evaluable students, 201 were goal-generating and 239 goal-evaluating. The top 3 goals were (1) improvement in neurologic examination, (2) understanding neurologic disease, and (3) deriving a differential diagnosis. More than 90% (n = 216/239) of students reported achieving goals. Achievers reported significantly higher clerkship satisfaction (4.2 ± 0.8 vs. 2.8 ± 1.0, p < 0.0001), greater interest in neurology (71% vs. 35%, p = 0.001), and higher observed tendency toward SDL (4.5 ± 0.5 vs. 4.1 ± 0.8, p < 0.0001). After adjusting for age and training, NBME scores were 1.7 points higher in achievers (95% confidence interval 0.1-3.2, p = 0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Students consistently generated similar goals for a required neurology clerkship. Goal achievers had better adjusted standardized test scores, higher satisfaction, and greater tendency toward SDL. This student-generated, goal-setting program may be particularly appealing to clinicians, educators, and researchers seeking resource-lean mechanisms to improve student experience and performance in the clinical clerkships.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. rstrowd1@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Roy E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Strowd
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Rachel Marie E
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Salas
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Tiana E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Charlene E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Gamaldo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009462:Neurology / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*