Medical student instructional costs in a primary care clerkship

Using a variety of techniques, such as logs kept daily by the faculty, direct observation, and on-site interviews, the authors determined the instructional costs of a required third-year primary care clerkship based in an ambulatory care setting. Included in the analysis were labor costs of both faculty members and nonfaculty personnel, space and materials, and general university overhead. Total instructional costs were 54. 20/student/day. If other third-year clinical clerkships generate equivalent costs, the direct instructional costs of clerkships for third-year medical students would be in excess of 11, 500/student/year. The study results imply that ambulatory-based teaching of medical students generates considerable costs and thus requires support from student tuition, federal or state government, or other sources.