Performance of clinical clerks doing paediatric rotations in a community hospital versus a university hospital

INTRODUCTION: Most clinical clerks (third-year medical students) do their paediatric rotation at the IWK Health Centre, the Dalhousie University-affiliated tertiary care paediatric institution in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Due to limited space, some clerks are sent to community hospitals in the provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. These community hospitals are different in terms of the academic environment and the availability of paediatric subspecialty services. OBJECTIVE: To compare performance of clinical clerks doing paediatric rotations in community hospitals (group I) with those in a university hospital (group II). METHODS: The end-of-rotation test scores on the 45 single correct answer multiple choice questions and the three 15 min objective structured clinical examinations in group I (n=54) and group II (n=124) for two consecutive academic years were studied. The end-of-rotation comments by the clerks in group I were examined to assess the quality of their experience. RESULTS: For the two academic years, the cumulative mean +/- SD scores for multiple choice questions and objective structured clinical examinations were 82.82+/-7.47 and 70.82+/-11.37, respectively, in group I compared with 83.03+/-7.74 and 69.02+/-11.23 in group II. There were no significant differences in the results between the two groups. No difference in results was seen when the scores were analyzed separately for each of the academic years. The clerks in group I rated their experience as positive. CONCLUSIONS: Clerks doing paediatric rotations in community hospitals perform as well and receive similar educational benefits as those at university hospitals. Community hospitals can provide a quality experience for paediatric clerkship training.