Background: Many medical schools have restructured their curriculum recently. New rotations have started including Radiology and Translational Science. At SUNY Downstate, the 3rd year Ob/Gyn clerkship was changed from 6 to 5 weeks as a result of the new curriculum.
Methods: NBME Shelf scores were compared before and after the curriculum change. Additionally, the results of an in-house competency based examination were also compared.
Results: NBME scoring for 409 3rd year students, from July 2013 to May 2015 were compared. 203 students had a 6 week rotation and 206 had a 5 week rotation. The range for the 6 week group was 54- 99 with a median of 75. The range for the 5 week group was 58 – 99 with a median of 74. There was no significant difference in the NBME scores between the 6 and 5 week groups (75.97 +/- 8.64 vs. 75.48 +/- 8.61, p = 0.354). The scores of an in-house competency based test were examined. The 6 week did not differ from the 5 week cohort (74.25 +/- 7.70 v. 75.17 +/- 8.64, p=0.101).
Discussions: The length of the ob/gyn clerkship was not found to have a statistically significant impact on student NBME scores or for an in-house competency-based examination. More research should be done to elucidate what changes would have an impact on student success. Such information would be fundamental in promoting the quality over quantity of medical education.
Keywords: NBME Duration Clerkship
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2016, Student, Faculty, Clerkship Director, Clerkship Coordinator, Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Professionalism, Systems-Based Practice & Improvement, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, Practice-Based Learning & Improvement, UME,
