POSTER

Performance of clinical clerks doing pediatric rotation in a community hospital

Mohsin Rashid, MD. Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Introduction: Most clinical clerks (Medicine-III) do their pediatric rotation at the IWK Health Centre, the Dalhousie University-affiliated tertiary care pediatric institution. Due to limited space, some clerks are sent to community hospitals in other Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. These community hospitals lack the academic environment and pediatric sub-specialty services.

Objective: To compare performance of clinical clerks doing pediatric rotation in the community hospitals (Group I) to those in the university hospital (Group II).

Methods: The end-of-rotation test scores on the forty-five single correct-answer Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and three 15-minute Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) in Group I (n=54) and Group II (n=124) for last 2 years were examined. The end-of-rotation comments by the clerks in Group I was analyzed to assess the quality of their experience.

Results: The mean scores on MCQs and OSCEs were 82.82 ( 7.47) and 70.82 ( 11.37) respectively in Group I compared to 83.03 ( 7.74) and 69.02 ( 11.23) in Group II. There was no significant difference in the results between the two groups. The clerks in Group I rated their experience as positive.

Conclusions: Clerks doing pediatric rotation in community hospitals perform as well as those at university hospital and find their experience enjoyable. If resources are limited at university institutions, the clerks can be sent to the community hospitals for their pediatric rotations.