Evolving roles of clerkship directors: have expectations changed?

Figures & data

Table 1. Poll everywhere questions

1. Indicate which clerkship organization you most closely associate:

• Association for Surgical Education

• Association of Professors of Gynecology & Obstetrics

• Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry

• Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine

• Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine

• Consortium of Neurology Clerkship Directors

• Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics

• Society of Teachers of Family Medicine

• None of the above

2. In which Group on Educational Affairs region are you from:

• Central

• Northeast

• Southeast

• Western

3. Is your medical school:

• Private

• Public

4. Please indicate your academic rank:

• Instructor/Lecturer

• Assistant Professor

• Associate Professor

• Professor

5. How many years have you been on faculty at your current institution?

6. Which of these have caused you the most headaches?

• Accreditation changes/LCME issues

• Increased class size, new sites, regional campuses

• Competition from DO/PA/APN/etc. programs

• Competency based curricular design

• Integrated curricular structures

• Educational technologies

• Something else

7. Which of the following describes the current status of resources needed to support for your clerkship?

• Missing support for many critical functions

• Missing support for some critical functions

• Sufficient support for all critical functions

• Meets most of the current functions

• Meets all current functions + support for new initiatives

8. Which of the following describes the current status of resources needed to support for your clerkship?

• Missing support for many critical functions

• Missing support for some critical functions

• Sufficient support for all critical functions

• Meets critical functions, as well as most other functions

• Meets critical and current functions, plus support for new initiatives

9. Who would best advocate on behalf of student needs?

• College

• Department

10. Who would best advocate for needs of faculty teachers?

• College

• Department

11. Who would best advocate for clerkship director needs?

• College

• Department

12. To whom MUST the clerkship director report? (rank order)

• Vice President of Health Sciences or Dean

• (Associate) Dean for Undergraduate Education

• Chair of Curriculum Committee at College

• Chairman of Clinical Department

• Vice Chair for Education within Clinical Department

• Other?

13. Who is the clerkship director’s best advocate? (single best)

• Vice President of Health Sciences or Dean

• (Associate) Dean for Undergraduate Education

• Chair of Curriculum Committee at College

• Chairman of Clinical Department

• Vice Chair for Education within Clinical Department

• Other?

14. What makes a Director excellent?

• Appropriate completion of their required clerkship tasks/duties?

• Involved in innovative changes across the curriculum?

• Consistently disseminates scholarly work?

• Recognized outside the institution as an educational leader?

Figure 1. Participant expectations of clerkship director qualifications. Participant worksheets indicated which skills a clerkship director must possess and skills that they should possess. n indicates number of worksheets completed out of 22 total

Figure 2. Essential tasks/products of the clerkship director. Participant worksheets indicated which tasks or products are a required or suggested responsibility of the clerkship director. n indicates number of worksheets completed out of 22 total

Table 2. Resources needed for clerkship directors

Resource lists	Must	Should	Delete	Uncertain
Control over resources and budget	21
Administrative support for clerkship management (1.0 FTE)	21
Space for self, staff and teaching	21
Access to new technologies and consultants	21
Protected time at least .25 FTE	21
Time and resources to visit other sites	21
Assistant (coordinator) as ‘first contact’	20			1
Material resources (phones, computers, copies, etc.)	20	1
Additional time and support for each course	20			1
Secretarial support for patient care issues	19	2	1	4
Time for research and development	4	17
Access to statistical and informatics consultants	4	17
Departmental committee (to review goals, strategies and students)	13	16		2
Time for committee work and personal development	6	13	1
Time for evaluation and feedback to teachers	9	11

Numbers reflect the number of worksheets identifying these resources.

Data Availability Statement

Data are available by contacting the corresponding author at [email protected].