Abstract
Background: Most Canadian medical schools do not have mandatory cardiology rotations. Early exposure to clinical cardiology aids career navigation, but clerkship selectives are chosen during pre-clerkship. This study investigates whether prior elective experiences affect medical student interest as well as understanding of cardiology before clerkship selections.
 Methods: A literature search was conducted using Google Scholar, Embase and PubMed to create an evidence-based cross-sectional survey. The anonymous questionnaire was administered to 53 second-year medical students at a Canadian medical school via Opinio, an online survey platform. Students were assessed on their interest and understanding of cardiology practice using a 5-point Likert Scale. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square analysis were applied to assess the relationship between previous elective experience, medical student interest, and understanding of career-related factors pertaining to cardiology.
 Results: Overall, 26 (49.1%) students reported cardiology interest, while it was a preferred specialty for 9 (17.0%). Medical students reported low understanding of community practice (n=20, 37.7%), duration of patient relationships (n=14, 26.4%), spectrum of disorders (n=13, 24.5%), and in-patient care (n=11, 20.8%) associated with cardiology practice. Students with prior cardiology electives had increased understanding of in-patient care (χ2 = 4.688, Cramer’s V = 0.297, p = 0.030 and were more likely to select cardiology as a top specialty choice (χ2 = 7.983, Cramer’s V = 0.388, p = 0.005).
 Conclusions: Pre-clerkship medical students have a low understanding of cardiology practice. Increasing pre-clerkship exposure to cardiology may help students determine their interest in the specialty before clerkship selectives are chosen.
Highlights
Career choices made in medical school have long-term consequences
Seven (13%) students participated in a previous clinical elective in cardiology with over half of these students ranking their interest in cardiology as “High” or “Very High”
This study examined the perceptions of Canadian undergraduate medical students in their second year of training at Dalhousie University
Summary
Career choices made in medical school have long-term consequences. Up to 14% of physicians report regret with their career choice.[1,2] This is salient for Canadian medical students interested in pursuing a career in cardiology, as they must complete 4 years of internal medicine residency training before further cardiology subspecialty training.[3]. In pre-clerkship, formal clinical experience is acquired through electives, in which students have weekly protected time with a selected preceptor to explore a specialty of their choosing. For a mandatory clerkship rotation such as internal medicine, students can request selectives in medical specialties of their interest. This study investigates whether prior elective experiences affect medical student interest as well as understanding of cardiology before clerkship rotation selections. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square analysis and Cramer’s V were used to assess the relationship between previous elective experience, medical student interest, and understanding of career-related factors pertaining to cardiology. Medical students reported low understanding of duration of patient relationships (n=14, 26.4%), spectrum of disorders (n=13, 24.5%), and in-patient care (n=11, 20.8%) associated with cardiology practice. Conclusion: Pre-clerkship medical students have a low understanding of cardiology practice. Increasing pre-clerkship exposure to cardiology may help students confirm cardiology as a top career choice before clerkship selectives are chosen
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
