Too Many Learners? Do Students Belong in Resident Continuity Clinics?

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PURPOSE: Determine the prevalence of medical students in OBGYN resident continuity clinics and describe effects on the learning environment when students and residents work together in this setting. BACKGROUND: Patient continuity is an ACGME requirement often fulfilled through a resident run continuity clinic. It’s unknown how frequently students rotate in these clinics, or how multiple levels of learners influence each other. METHODS: We surveyed OBGYN program managers using a national listserv. Resident and student surveys were based on a Likert scale and sent to all OBGYN residents and students that rotated at our institution from 2016-2018. RESULTS: Program managers responded from 45 programs and 75.6% scheduled students in resident continuity clinics. Our response rates were 79/116 (68.1%) for students and 21/24 (87.5%) for residents. A one-sample Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to test the hypothesis that the typical response on the five-level Likert scale was “Agree” or “Strongly Agree.” Of medical students, 88.6% stated that they agreed or strongly agreed they enjoyed working with residents (p<0.001) and 60.8% stated they agreed or strongly agreed residents were effective teachers (p<0.001). Among residents, 52.4% agreed or strongly agreed that they enjoyed working with students (p<0.001). However, 61.9% said they agreed or strongly agreed they were too busy to be effective teachers (p<0.001). DISCUSSION: Many institutions have students rotate in resident continuity clinics. Residents and students have positive views regarding their interactions. Although students were satisfied, residents expressed concerns about their ability to be effective teachers given clinical demands. Our results highlight the importance of developing resident teaching skills.