Abstract / Summary
Abstract Background Pediatrics medical education faces challenges, needing enhanced undergraduate medical student preparation and trends towards worsening physician-workforce shortages. While overcoming challenges requires a multi-pronged strategy, a clerkship-curriculum redesign can be an evidence-based approach in undergraduate medical education (UME) where clerkship factors can be modified to offer dedicated time and curricular touchpoints to foster conditions favorable to potentially address educational-programmatic and workforce-shortage challenges. We developed an innovative, pediatrics clerkship structure by increasing its length, offering foundational-knowledge preparation, uninterrupted immersive clinical experiences, and a consolidation week for assessment, reflection, coaching, and community service. We evaluated process outcomes and clerkship feasibility/acceptability. Methods Required student-satisfaction surveys were distributed between February and December 2022 – 2024. Satisfaction was measured using a 4-point scale (1 = very dissatisfied, 4 = very satisfied). Students also described what was (or not) working well. We used descriptive statistics to analyze quantitative data and inductive thematic analysis to analyze qualitative data. To measure medical knowledge, we collected mean equated percent correct pediatrics subject exam scores in academic years 2022 – 2023, 2023 – 2024, and 2024 – 2025 for our students and the national comparison group. Results Students ( N = 342/350; 97.7% participation rate) reported high levels of satisfaction with the new clerkship structure, including the quality of clinical experiences and overall clerkship. Qualitative themes indicated students valued clerkship rotations’ length, the organization and structure, hands-on learning, varied clinical experiences, and community service and clerkship reflection opportunities. Students’ mean subject exam scores were at or above reported national averages. Conclusions Feasibility/acceptability process outcomes indicate strong student satisfaction with our new innovative clerkship offering dedicated time for high-yield medical-knowledge preparation and clinical learning through immersive patient-care experiences, meeting educational-programmatic goals of the clerkship redesign. Student reflection and service opportunities were valuable to process clerkship experiences and dynamics. The successful delivery of our redesigned clerkship supported their pediatrics patient-care skill preparation and perceived readiness to engage in clinical encounters, and addressed areas known from the literature to be associated with students’ specialty choice. Curriculum redesigns can focus on modifiable factors associated with challenges facing pediatrics in UME to develop a feasible and acceptable innovative clerkship, promoting positive pediatrics educational experiences.