Family-centered rounds and medical student performance on the NBME pediatrics subject (shelf) examination: a retrospective cohort study

Authors

Tiffany N. Kimbrough, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Victor Heh, Ohio University
N. Romesh Wijesooriya, Virginia Commonwealth University
Michael S. Ryan, Virginia Commonwealth University

Document Type

Article

Original Publication Date

2016

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Medical Education Online

Volume

2016

Issue

21

DOI of Original Publication

10.3402/meo.v21.30919

Comments

Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/meo.v21.30919

Funded in part by the VCU Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund.

Date of Submission

February 2017

Abstract

Objective

To determine the association between family-centered rounds (FCR) and medical student knowledge acquisition as assessed by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) pediatric subject (shelf) exam.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted of third-year medical students who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine between 2009 and 2014. This timeframe represented the transition from ‘traditional’ rounds to FCR on the pediatric inpatient unit. Data collected included demographics, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 and 2 scores, and NBME subject examinations in pediatrics (PSE), medicine (MSE), and surgery (SSE).

Results

Eight hundred and sixteen participants were included in the analysis. Student performance on the PSE could not be statistically differentiated from performance on the MSE for any year except 2011 (z-score=−0.17, p=0.02). Average scores on PSE for years 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2014 were significantly higher than for SSE, but not significantly different for all other years. The PSE was highly correlated with USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 examinations (correlation range 0.56–0.77) for all years.

Conclusions

Our results showed no difference in PSE performance during a time in which our institution transitioned to FCR. These findings should be reassuring for students, attending physicians, and medical educators.

Rights

© 2016 Tiffany N. Kimbrough et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.

Is Part Of

VCU Pediatrics Publications