2002 AUR Joseph E and Nancy O. Whitley Award - Distributed web-supported radiology clerkship for the required clinical clerkship year of medical school: Development, implementation, and evaluation

Rationale and Objectives. The authors performed this study to develop, implement, and evaluate a new radiology clerkship for the required clinical clerkship year of medical school. Materials and Methods. A mandatory radiology clerkship experience was added to the required clinical clerkships as a series of 10 independent half-day teaching sessions. These sessions were distributed as one session per existing clerkship throughout the year. To provide continuity and organization, Web-based curriculum materials were designed and implemented as a component of the radiology clerkship. The new clerk-ship was evaluated with observations, pretest and posttest measures with a control group, structured and unstructured student and faculty surveys, and individual and small group interviews. Results. The clerkship was successfully developed and implemented. Ninety-five students have completed the clerkship. Their mean posttest score (84,8) was significantly higher than their mean pretest score (58.8, P < .001) and the mean control group score (59.7, P < .001). Students rarely used the Web site. Disadvantages of the distributed clerkship were identified. Conclusion. A radiology clerkship distributed among existing clerkships is feasible but has many disadvantages. Students greatly prefer live instruction, and Web-based educational materials are more valuable to faculty and administrators than to students.