An evaluation of study habits of third-year medical students in a surgical clerkship.

BACKGROUND This study was developed to assess study habits of medical students in a third-year surgical clerkship and to determine the relationship of these study habits to performance outcomes. METHODS A questionnaire designed to assess medical student study habits was administered at the end of five consecutive 10-week multidisciplinary surgical clerkships. The results of questionnaires from 81 students were analyzed in respect to results on the National Board of Medical Education (NBME) surgical subtest and the multiple stations clinical examination (MSCE) given at the end of each clerkship. RESULTS Although only 18 of the total 81 students reported studying in formal but self-directed groups, students who reported studying in a group on average scored 4 points higher on the MSCE than those who did not study in a group (P = 0.001). However, no significant differences or correlations were discovered between any of the study habits and the individual results on the NBME. CONCLUSION Students may benefit from collaborative studying when it comes to clinical experience as demonstrated by improved performance on the MSCE.

[1]  Timothy Koschmann,et al.  Cscl : Theory and Practice of An Emerging Paradigm , 1996 .

[2]  Productive small groups in medical studies: training for cooperative learning , 1998 .

[3]  David W. Johnson,et al.  Cooperative learning : increasing college faculty instructional productivity , 1991 .

[4]  D. Newble,et al.  The effect of assessments and examinations on the learning of medical students , 1983, Medical education.

[5]  M. Albanese,et al.  Problem‐based Learning: A Review of Literature on Its Outcomes and Implementation Issues , 1993, Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges.

[6]  K. Bruffee.  Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge , 1995 .

[7]  Kenneth A. Bruffee,et al.  Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge , 1999 .

[8]  G. Parsell,et al.  Educational principles underpinning successful shared learning , 1998 .

[9]  N. Entwistle,et al.  Learning styles and approaches: implications for medical education , 1986, Medical education.

[10]  N. Vu,et al.  How medical students learn. , 1983, Journal of medical education.

[11]  Lewis Elton,et al.  Trends in research on student learning , 1979 .

[12]  A. Lazar.  Who Is Studying in Groups and Why?: Peer Collaboration Outside the Classroom. , 1995 .

[13]  N. Entwistle,et al.  EFFECTS OF ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS ON STUDENTS' APPROACHES TO STUDYING , 1981 .

[14]  Joel A. Michael,et al.  Promoting Active Learning in the Life Science Classroom: Defining the Issues , 1993 .

[15]  R. Light,et al.  The Harvard assessment seminars , 1992 .

[16]  J. Rankin,et al.  Problem-based medical education: effect on library use. , 1992, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association.

[17]  David W. Johnson.  Cooperative Learning: Increasing College Faculty Instructional Productivity. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4, 1991. , 1991 .