Impact of a structured review session on medical student psychiatry subject examination performance

Abstract

An end-of-clerkship review session led to increased mean scores on the NBME psychiatry subject examination, particularly for students at the lower end of the score range. Future research should investigate the impact of such an intervention in other specialties and other institutions.

Impact of Students’ Scheduling Choice on Clerkship Examination Score Performance in a Time-Varying Competency-Based Curriculum

“…However, this shortening of clerkship time did not appear to negatively affect students’ scores and, in fact, resulted in score improvements. This finding differs from other studies that have shown exam scores were lower when the psychiatry 11 or internal medicine clerkship 12 was shortened. It may be that changes in the preclinical curriculum between the 2 groups could have influenced NBME scores.…”

“…External factors can influence how well students perform on NBME shelf exams. Quantitative feedback, 7 family-centered clinical rounds, 8 a structured teaching curriculum, 9 resident-led tutorials, 10 and structured review sessions 11 have all been shown to affect NBME shelf exam test scores. Additionally, shorter clerkships (e.g., 3–4 weeks) have resulted in lower NBME scores compared with longer clerkships (e.g., 6 weeks).…”

Clinical subject exams during advanced pharmacy practice experiences

“…McClendon and colleagues demonstrated that knowledge of CSE topics may provide an opportunity for increased interaction between preceptor and student through intentional topic discussions aimed at preparing for the CSE 27 . Additionally, two studies have demonstrated that structured reviews during a psychiatry rotation improved performance on the CSE for that subject 28,29 . Thus, CSEs may provide another method to aid preceptors in assessing student learning, and activities supporting preparation for the CSE may engage rather than distract students.…”

“…Studying for CSEs would likely require additional off‐site study time. To counteract this burden, preceptors could use CSE topics and learning outcomes as a guide for discussions, journal clubs, and assignments 27‐29 . Moreover, when implementing CSEs, it would be important to discuss how they will be included in the assessment model so that they are not punitive to students.…”