For Medical Students

Continuity in clerkships important, study finds

Medical students allowed to work with the same patients and mentors throughout their clinical clerkships are more satisfied and demonstrate better clinical competency than peers who are trained with less continuity, according to a study in the January issue of Academic Medicine.

Researchers evaluating students in three clerkship models with varying levels of continuity between 2006 and 2010 found that students in all three programs preferred consistency during their clinical education. Those who participated in clerkships that offered more continuity scored higher than students in the block rotations on the clinical knowledge section of Step 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Exam, the study found.

View American Medical News' coverage of the study.

Students explore specialties during networking event

A speed-dating event and reception coordinated in December by the AMA Medical Student Section at Marshall University gave medical students the opportunity to meet physicians in various specialty fields to help them learn about their career options.

More than 25 physicians covering 20 specialties rotated with medical students to learn about different specialties, discuss time for family life, switching specialties and the realities of loan repayment, among other topics. Read more about the event in coverage by the Parthenon, Marshall University's student newspaper.

The event was made possible in part by an AMA Section Involvement Grant. Local sections are eligible to receive up to $1,000 per academic year, with a maximum of $500 to support recruitment and $500 to support community service and education events.

For details on planning this type of event at your school, visit the AMA's SIG Web page or email the AMA Medical Student Section.

Advocacy event to offer peek at the politics of medicine

Learn about the legislative issues affecting medicine and foster relationships with legislators during AMA Medical Student Advocacy Day, which will take place Feb. 10–11 in Washington, D.C. Advocacy Day will be held at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel and will offer interactive educational sessions on effective advocacy and lobbying techniques, briefings on legislative issues before Congress and a full afternoon on Capitol Hill meeting with legislators and their staffs. Activities are tentatively set to begin at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time Feb. 10.

Registration is $10, and a limited number of free hotel rooms is available. You must be an AMA member to attend. If you're not a member, join today.

Enjoy a discount on Kaplan courses

Are you starting to prepare for the United States Medical Licensing Examination or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States? Enhance your preparation with Kaplan's Qbank and High Yield courses.

AMA members save 30 percent on Kaplan's new High Yield on-demand lecture course, an integrated review featuring page references to First Aid. Also, save on Kaplan's Qbank with 2,200 questions that fully integrate with our free app on your iPhone® and Android phones. Visit the Kaplan website to learn more.

Don't miss out on valuable AMA-member benefits such as this. Renew your membership or join the AMA today to begin receiving them.