Relationships Matter: Enhancing Trainee Development with a (Simple) Clerkship Curriculum Reform

AbstractProblem: The traditional clerkship model of brief encounters between faculty and students results in reduced meaningful learning opportunities due to the lack of a relationship that enables repeated observation, supervisor feedback, trust formation, and growth. Intervention: Clinical clerkships at our institution were restructured to decrease fragmentation of supervision and foster an educational alliance between faculty and student. A mixed-methods approach was used to study the impact of this curriculum reform on the student experience in the obstetrics and gynecology clerkship. Student participation in patient care was assessed by comparing the number of common obstetric procedures performed before and after clerkship reform. Separate qualitative analyses of comments from student surveys and a faculty focus group revealed themes impacting student involvement. The supervisor–trainee relationship was further investigated by analysis of “rich picture” discussions with students and faculty. Context...