Are We Measuring What Matters? How Student and Clerkship Characteristics Influence Clinical Grading.

PURPOSE: Given the growing emphasis placed on clerkship performance for residency selection, clinical evaluation and its grading implications are critically important; therefore, the authors conducted this study to determine which evaluation components best predict a clinical honors recommendation across 3 core clerkships. METHOD: Student evaluation data were collected during academic years 2015-2017 from the third-year internal medicine (IM), pediatrics, and surgery clerkships at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. The authors used factor analysis to examine 12 evaluation components (12 items), and they applied multilevel logistic regression to correlate evaluation components with a clinical honors recommendation. RESULTS: Of 3,947 completed evaluations, 1,508 (38%) recommended clinical honors. The top item that predicted a clinical honors recommendation was clinical reasoning skills for IM (odds ratio [OR] 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9 to 4.2; P < .001), presentation skills for surgery (OR 2.6; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.2; P < .001), and knowledge application for pediatrics (OR 4.8; 95% CI, 2.8 to 8.2; P < .001). Students who spent more time with their evaluators were more likely to receive clinical honors (P < .001), and residents were more likely than faculty to recommend clinical honors (P < .001). Of the top 5 evaluation items associated with clinical honors, 4 composed a single factor for all clerkships: clinical reasoning, knowledge application, record keeping, and presentation skills. CONCLUSIONS: The 4 characteristics that best predicted a clinical honors recommendation in all disciplines (clinical reasoning, knowledge application, record keeping, and presentation skills) correspond with traditional definitions of clinical competence. Structural components, such as contact time with evaluators, also correlated with a clinical honors recommendation. These findings provide empiric insight into the determination of clinical honors and the need for heightened attention to structural components of clerkships and increased scrutiny of evaluation rubrics.

Intracardiac echocardiographic-guided right-sided cardiac biopsy: Case series and literature review.

Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is a common procedure used to aid in the diagnosis of diffuse myocardial diseases and, less commonly, in the diagnosis of cardiac tumors. As cardiac tumors are often found in high-risk locations (ventricular free wall or atria), precision biopsy is paramount, and additional imaging, like transesophageal echocardiography is often required for guidance. The use of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) to guide biopsy has been described, but there is no consensus on a standardized approach. We report our institutional approach with three cases of ICE-directed EMB performed with the 2.4 mm Jawz bioptome directed with an 8.5-Fr Agilis NxT steerable introducer. All cases were performed under guidance with the AcuNav ICE probe. There were no procedural complications and a definitive diagnosis was obtained in all three cases. We also review the available published cases of ICE-guided EMB in the literature-noting the different procedural approaches, complication rate, and diagnostic yield. There were only two negative biopsies reported among the published cases and no reported complications. Our review of all these cases suggests that ICE-guidance for EMB is superior to other forms of imaging in its ease of use and high definition of right-sided cardiac structures. We also feel that the use of the Agilis steerable sheath allows for more precise directing of the bioptome and is a critical component in performing a successful targeted biopsy.