Relationship of Clinical Encounters to End-of-rotation Exam Scores for Fourth-year Students in Emergency Medicine
Source: PubMed Central Open Access, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine
Background Emergency medicine (EM) clerkship directors view end-of-rotation exam scores as one of the most important components in the assessment of medical student performance. Understanding factors that may impact end-of-rotation exam scores is important because strong performance during fourth-year EM clerkships is crucial for matching in EM residency. One factor that may affect exam scores is increased experience through clinical encounters. Our objective in this study was to assess the relationship between the number of clinical encounters and end-of-rotation exam scores. Methods This was a single-site, retrospective study involving fourth-year medical students who completed a four-week EM elective between 2021–2024. We obtained exam scores and student home/away rotation status from clerkship evaluation records. The number of clinical encounters was extracted from electronic health records (EHR) via two exposure measurement methods: 1) signed notes only; and (2) signed notes or assignment to the care team on electronic EHR. We used a multivariable linear regression model to assess the impact of clinical encounters and home/away rotation status. Results We included 108 students in this analysis. The linear regression coefficient for each clinical encounter was 0.134 (= .02) and 0.089 (= .09) for the two exposure measurements, respectively. Away rotation status, when controlled for the number of patients seen, demonstrated a coefficient of 2.627 (= .06) and 2.464 (= .08).
Abstract
Background Emergency medicine (EM) clerkship directors view end-of-rotation exam scores as one of the most important components in the assessment of medical student performance. Understanding factors that may impact end-of-rotation exam scores is important because strong performance during fourth-year EM clerkships is crucial for matching in EM residency. One factor that may affect exam scores is increased experience through clinical encounters. Our objective in this study was to assess the relationship between the number of clinical encounters and end-of-rotation exam scores. Methods This was a single-site, retrospective study involving fourth-year medical students who completed a four-week EM elective between 2021–2024. We obtained exam scores and student home/away rotation status from clerkship evaluation records. The number of clinical encounters was extracted from electronic health records (EHR) via two exposure measurement methods: 1) signed notes only; and (2) signed notes or assignment to the care team on electronic EHR. We used a multivariable linear regression model to assess the impact of clinical encounters and home/away rotation status. Results We included 108 students in this analysis. The linear regression coefficient for each clinical encounter was 0.134 (= .02) and 0.089 (= .09) for the two exposure measurements, respectively. Away rotation status, when controlled for the number of patients seen, demonstrated a coefficient of 2.627 (= .06) and 2.464 (= .08). Conclusion The number of clinical encounters and home/away status had minimal to no impact on end-of-rotation exam scores.