Effect of Curriculum Change on Exam Performance in a 4-Week Psychiatry Clerkship

ObjectiveThe authors investigated whether curriculum change could produce improved performance, despite a reduction in clerkship length from 8 to 4 weeks.MethodsThe exam performance of medical students completing a 4-week clerkship in psychiatry was compared to national data from the National Board of Medical Examiners’ Psychiatry Subject Examination and the United States Medical Licensure Examination Step 2 CK psychiatry and mental disorders subtests.ResultsCurriculum change and restructuring to a 4-week psychiatry clerkship resulted in above-average and sustained improvement on nationally standardized assessment measures.ConclusionExamination performance can be optimized despite a 50% reduction in the duration of a psychiatry clerkship.

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