An evaluation study of the didactic quality of clerkships

Context Previous qualitative research at the University of Antwerp revealed dissatisfaction amongst medical students about clinical clerkships. Objective To use quantitative methods to further explore student perception s of their clinical teaching. Method, sample and setting Monthly questionnaire administered to final-year medical students at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Results The response rate was 83.9%. Many of the qualitative findings were reproduced. Educational resources were not optimally used. The junior docto r was the most important clinical teacher. Many activities were passive exp eriences. Coaching, feedback and supervision associated most with general s atisfaction of the clerkship, however, these dimensions were often consider ed suboptimal. Conclusions Clinical clerkships do not automatically provide an ideal learn ing environment for medical students.