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Obstetrics and Gynecolgy Clerkship: Does it affect medical students’ interest in pursuing ObGyn as a career?

Objective: To evaluate whether the Obstetrics and Gynecolgy (ObGyn) clerkship affects medical students’ interest in pursuing ObGyn as a career.

Study Design: Medical students in the classes of 2014 and 2015, at four medical schools, completed a web-based survey before and after their ObGyn clerkships. The survey queried their interest in choosing ObGyn as a career, what the most attracting or distracting factors are, and whether they need more clinical exposure to help them make a decision. After the clerkship, they also reported whether the clerkship experience affected their interest in the specialty. Statistical analyses comprised chi-squared tests for categorical data and McNemar’s Test for paired (pre- vs. post-clerkship survey) data comparison.

Results: As of Dec 5, 2013, 94 students completed survey with response rate of 52%. Of 94 responses, 58 were pre-clerkship and 36 post-clerkship surveys. Prior to the ObGyn clerkship, 6(10%) stated that they were interested in choosing ObGyn, 12% males and 7% females. After the clerkship, 8(22%) expressed their interest in pursuing ObGyn (25% males and 20% females). Paired data (n=22) comparison indicates a borderline significant change of their interest in pursuing ObGyn from pre- to post-clerkship overall (p=0.046), but not by gender. Of 2 who said “Interested” pre-clerkship, 100% remain interested post-clerkship. Of those who answered “No interest” or “Not decided” pre-clerkship, 4(20%) were converted to ‘Interested’ post-clerkship.

Conclusion: Overall, the ObGyn clerkship experience does seem to have some positive effect on medical students’ specialty interest in ObGyn.

Topics: 2014, Clerkship Director, Clerkship Coordinator, Osteopathic Faculty, UME,