Trends in clinical education of medical students - Implications for pediatrics

Objectives: To describe current educational imperatives and trends for curr icular changes in the clinical education of medical students and to delinea te the nature and extent of participation in these curricular trends by dep artments of pediatrics. Methods: Site visits to 26 representative US medical schools and a review o f detailed information from 12 additional schools. Evaluation of the core c urriculum was developed by the Council on Medical Student Education in Pedi atrics within the context of the major curricular trends observed. Results: The major observed curricular trends emphasized community-based am bulatory experiences, continuity of care, integration, and population-based experiences. Supporting educational principles included student-directed l earning and performance-based assessments. The 3 major curricular changes w ere early clinical experiences (longitudinal preceptorships), community-ori ented/population-based experiences, and multispecialty clerkships. The focu s of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics objectives was the year 3 clerkship, and substantive participation by pediatric faculty in the overall curriculum was primarily related to the pediatric clerkship. Conclusions: Revising the clerkship-based Council on Medical Student Educat ion in Pediatrics guidelines according to the new educational trends will e xtend clinical curricular opportunities for pediatrics beyond the tradition al boundaries of the clerkship. The discipline of pediatrics will, as a con sequence, be able to achieve enhanced partnership in the planning, conduct, and evaluation of a clinical curriculum for medical students that is relev ant to child health issues and that extends across all 4 years.