Medical student evaluation of faculty in student-preceptor pairs.

BACKGROUND: Students' willingness to provide candid feedback about faculty in student-preceptor pairs is unknown. Strategies addressing this in U.S. medical schools have not been reported. This study describes student comfort in evaluating preceptors and how medical schools obtain/use evaluations of preceptors. METHOD: First- and second-year medical students at Virginia Commonwealth University completed a survey at midyear and year end. A Web-based survey of U.S. medical schools was conducted. RESULTS: Two hundred eighty-two (78%) students and 84 (70%) medical schools responded. Most students felt comfortable providing feedback to program faculty (95%), whereas fewer felt comfortable with the preceptor (77%). Students commented on both the importance and awkwardness of giving feedback. Approximately 75% of medical schools agreed that lack of anonymity limits student candor on preceptorship evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the impact of one-to-one ratio on student evaluations of faculty may enable programs to develop more effective evaluation strategies.

Effective Learning in an Ambulatory Family Medicine Clerkship: A Qualitative Study of Medical Student Midpoint Feedback.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is substantial research on the effectiveness of ambulatory medical preceptors' teaching skills, but less is known about the student perspective on what contributes most to effective learning in a busy clinical practice. METHODS: As part of a formative midpoint assessment during the third-year clerkship in family medicine, students were asked to respond to the following open-ended reflective prompt: "My preceptor contributed to my learning by..." A qualitative assessment of student responses was conducted to identify themes describing effective learning in the ambulatory setting. Responses for all clerkship students from the years 2012-2014 were examined (N=314). RESULTS: The most common characteristic of effective learning identified by respondents was Autonomy in Practice. Other prominent themes included Stimulating Critical Thinking and Feedback. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding student perceptions of the critical components of learning in ambulatory settings will allow medical educators to design meaningful student learning experiences and coach community teachers on effective teaching practices.

Residency faculty opinions about medical student advising: a national survey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Medical student faculty advisors are charged with providing students the best possible information and advice regarding residency selection and how to increase their likelihood of matching into the program of their choice. Given the lack of clear and consistent processes for ranking residency applicants, medical student advisors will benefit from better insight into the perspectives of family medicine residency (FMR) faculty. METHODS: This study was designed to increase understanding of the perceptions of FMR faculty in evaluating and ranking medical student applicants. We surveyed all FMR programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Program directors, or their designees, were asked to provide basic program characteristics and then to either agree or disagree with various advising statements medical school faculty might say to students applying to FMR programs. RESULTS: Of the 24 items in the survey, consensus among programs was reached for only seven. CONCLUSIONS: These results, especially given the current climate of an increasing number of applicants for a nearly stable number of residency training slots, clearly support the need for enhanced communication and collaboration between family medicine student advisors and residency educators.