Abstracts From the Proceedings of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) Abstracts

The mission of Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) is to promote excellence in medical student internal medicine education. The organization represents course directors, site directors, and program administrators. CDIM is a member of the Alliance of Academic Internal Medicine, a consortium of 5 academically focused specialty organizations representing departments of internal medicine and medical schools and teaching hospitals in the United States and Canada. At Academic Internal Medicine Week 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, CDIM held its annual meeting at which oral abstracts and posters selected by the CDIM Research committee were presented. In these proceedings we share with you selected abstracts from the meeting that highlight CDIM members' innovation and careful appraisal of the medical student experience. Three abstracts address quality improvement and/or patient safety, including the description of a longitudinal quality improvement curriculum, an observed structured clinical examination to teach transitions of care, and teaching handoffs with simulation. Additional abstracts focus on teaching students about the evolving landscape of medicine, including education about cost-conscious care, the effect of duty hour restrictions on the subinternship, and student readiness for the meaningful use of electronic health records. One abstract surveys students' extracurricular reading habits and another demonstrates the effects of postdischarge phone calls on both patients and medical students. CDIM is pleased to present these abstracts, which were identified as the highest quality and most relevant for medical student educators and the readership of Teaching and Learning in Medicine.