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An Intervention to Improve the Evaluation of Clerkship Students

  • Landon Thompson
  • , Marc Hettlinger
  • , Lynne J. Goebel
  • Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
  • Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Effective feedback is an important part of formative evaluation of clerkship students, improving student performance by increasing awareness to weaknesses and strengths.

Aim: The aim of this study was to obtain more helpful feedback.

Setting: Internal Medicine third year clerkship rotation at Joan C Edwards School of Medicine, Huntington, WV.

Participants: The Internal Medicine department has fifty-nine general and subspecialty faculty physicians.

Program Description: We changed the structure of the existing feedback form by requesting written comments at the beginning and asking for specific strengths and areas for improvement, educated faculty, and gave them a milestones card. Three reviewers independently ranked written feedback according to a rubric. We compared the quantity of either helpful or unhelpful feedback obtained during the 2016 and 2017 academic years with that obtained in the first rotation of 2018-2019.

Program Evaluation: With our intervention, helpful comments increased from 33.8% to 79.2%. A Kappa statistic revealed a lack of bias of the reviewers.

Discussion: A small change in the evaluation form along with an educational intervention and milestones card improved the quantity of helpful feedback given to students in the Internal Medicine clerkship.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalMarshall Journal of Medicine
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 31 2020

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