What are the discussion topics and usefulness of clerkship directors' meetings within medical schools? A report from the CDIM 2007 national survey

Purpose: To characterize meetings among clerkship directors within medical schools, specifically with regard to topics of discussion, and usefulness of the meetings. Method: In 2007, the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine surveyed its institutional members from 114 U.S. and Canadian medical schools. Respondents were asked about the frequency of meetings among clerkship directors, the topics of discussions, whether they were precluded from discussing students in academic difficulty, and the benefits and drawbacks of discussing students' performance. Analysis included descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis of free-text responses. Results: The response rate was 71% (81/114). The most common meeting frequencies were monthly (77%) or quarterly (15%). Topics discussed included deans' policies (91%), general announcements (90%), recommendations from clerkship directors to the dean (86%), Liaison Committee on Medical Education site visit preparation (84%), curricular input (82%), discussion of struggling students (49%), students' progress (48%), and planning for at-risk preclerkship students (22%). Some respondents (16%) were explicitly prevented from discussing student performance, for reasons of possible harm to the student (30/84; 36%), bias developing against the student (13/84; 16%), violation of privacy/lack of student confidentiality (4/84; 5%), and possible bias in grading or evaluation (8/84; 10%). Most respondents (94%) agreed there were benefits to students resulting from discussions: longitudinal tracking of concerns, designing remediation, tailoring teacher assignments, and societal obligations. Conclusions: Clerkship directors meet frequently to discuss curriculum, policy, and students' performance. Most internal medicine clerkship directors believe discussing students' performance helps design educational interventions that balance societal obligations with student confidentiality.