Evaluation and Feedback
Clerkship Grade
Grades for student performance on the Pediatric Clerkship are assigned using
the following paradigm:
- Clinical Performance: 60%
- Written Examinations: 35%
- Other Activities: 5%
Total: 100%
Clinical Performance
The Medical
Student Clinical Performance Evaluation outlines the standards by which
students will be graded on their clinical performance. During each phase of
their rotation, students will receive evaluations from their preceptors and
supervisors based upon this performance standard. The average score from all
these subjective evaluations forms the basis for the clinical performance
grade.
For students rotating at MCG the Clinical Performance will be calculated as follows:
- Inpatient (30%)
- 28% Evaluations from Attending physicians and Residents (each will count equally)
- 2% On-Call Feedback Cards
- Outpatient (50%)
- 25% Feedback Cards from Outpatient, Allergy, Special Child, and Adolescent Clinics
- 5% Newborn Nursery Attending Evaluation
For students rotating off-campus the Clinical Performance will be calculated based on the cumulative average of evaluations completed by supervising physicians.
Students who score less than an average of 70% for their final clinical performance grade will be required to remediate some or all of the clerkship. Grading scale for Clinical Performance is as follows:
|
90-100% |
Outstanding performance in all areas. Under normal circumstances no more than 20% of students will perform at this level. |
|
80-89.9% |
Meeting expectations: Clinical skills are solid, and appropriate for his/her level of training. The majority of students will perform at this level. |
|
70-79.9% |
Compared with peers, this student demonstrates clinical skills that are below expectations for his/her level of training. |
|
<70% |
This student has significant clinical performance deficiencies, and should not pass the rotation. |
Written Examinations
Two written examinations are given during the Pediatric Clerkship. The Departmental exam is given by computer (Vista) at each clinical teaching site on Friday morning during the 5th week of the rotation. The questions are based on the knowledge content of the student curriculum guide. The examination consists of 45 multiple choice questions and 2 essay questions derived from the Clinical Cases provided at the end of the Student Curriculum Guide. This test is scored on a percent scale (0-100%). The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Pediatric Subject Examination is given on the final day of the clerkship. The NBME Subject Test Score achieved on this exam is converted to a percent scale (0-100%). Each of these two exams contributes 17.5% toward the student’s final grade.
Student Performance on the NBME Pediatric Subject Exam is converted to a percentage score based on the scale below. These standards for MCG students are based on opinions provided by a national group of pediatric clerkship directors. Their recommendations for scoring the NBME exam were as follows:
-
Minimum Passing Score: 61
-
Minimum Honors Score: 84
The MCG Standard for converting the NBME score to a percentage grade is as follows:
- Minimum Passing Score: 59
- Minimum Honors Score: 83
Students who score less than a 59 (70%) of the Pediatric NBME exam will need to remediate the clerkship.
Students who pass the NBME Pediatric Subject Exam
but who fail to achieve a combined score of 70% for both written
examinations will receive a grade no higher than a "C" for the clerkship.
|
PED 5000 Grading Scale for NBME Pediatric Subject Examination |
|||
|
NBME Subject Test Score |
MCG Converted Score (%) |
NBME Subject Test Score |
MCG Converted Score (%) |
|
50 |
62.3 |
71 |
80.3 |
|
51 |
63.1 |
72 |
81.1 |
|
52 |
64.0 |
73 |
82.0 |
|
53 |
64.9 |
74 |
82.9 |
|
54 |
65.7 |
75 |
83.7 |
|
55 |
66.6 |
76 |
84.6 |
|
56 |
67.4 |
77 |
85.4 |
|
57 |
68.3 |
78 |
86.3 |
|
58 |
69.1 |
79 |
87.1 |
|
59 |
70.0 |
80 |
88.0 |
|
60 |
70.9 |
81 |
88.9 |
|
61 |
71.7 |
82 |
89.7 |
|
62 |
72.6 |
83 |
90.6 |
|
63 |
73.4 |
84 |
91.4 |
|
64 |
74.3 |
85 |
92.3 |
|
65 |
75.1 |
86 |
93.1 |
|
66 |
76.0 |
87 |
94.0 |
|
67 |
76.9 |
88 |
94.9 |
|
68 |
77.7 |
89 |
95.7 |
|
69 |
78.6 |
90 |
96.6 |
|
70 |
79.4 |
91 |
97.4 |
|
|
|
92 |
98.3 |
|
|
|
93 |
99.1 |
|
|
|
94 |
100.0 |
Other Activities
Students will be graded on their participation and contribution to other clerkship activities. There will be a 5% deduction for each missed activity. These activities include:
- Completing 15 CLIPP Cases during the first 5 weeks of the rotation
(3 cases assigned per week.
- Taking the weekly CLIPP Self-Assessment Quiz on Vista (1 test each
week for 5 weeks).
- Providing accurate information to the clerkship director concerning
the numbers, ages, and diagnoses of pediatric patients seen during the
clerkship using SPEL (Student Patient Encounter Log). Students are
expected to log patients at least weekly. The clerkship director will
review the logs mid-rotation.
- Taking the PED5000 Departmental Practice Examination using Vista.
This needs to be done by the end of the fourth week of the rotation. By
taking this practice exam, the student will become familiar with the
format of the Departmental Examination.
- Returning a completed Mid-Rotation Feedback Form by the end of the
fourth week of the rotation. The student is responsible for printing
the form, giving it to their attending physician, completing and
reviewing it together, then returning it to the clerkship coordinator.
- (Off-Campus students only) - Sending 2 “check-in” email messages to
the clerkship director: One message by the end of the first week, and
the other message sometime during the second half of the rotation.
- Other: Students should realize that their attitude and professionalism may also have an impact on their clerkship grade. Students who exercise unprofessional behavior in their interactions with patients, nursing staff, administrative staff and other personnel in the School of Medicine while on their pediatric clerkship are performing below expectations, and this will have an influence on their overall clerkship grade. Timely completion of clerkship requirements (i.e. checking GroupWise email at least weekly, attendance at conferences, morning report, etc., failing to use posted online resources for information regarding schedules, conferences, etc.) will also be considered in evaluating a student's overall performance.
Grading Policy
Final clerkship grades should be posted within six weeks of completing the rotation. Students who wish to contest their clerkship grade may do so in the following manner:
- Contact the Clerkship Director. It is inappropriate for the student
to directly approach his/her clinical preceptor about a clerkship grade.
- The student should submit written evidence to support his/her case.
- The Clerkship Director will contact the appropriate clinical
preceptor(s) and solicit his/her evaluation in light of the new
information from the student.
- The Clerkship Director will inform the student of the results of the
appeal as soon as information is available.
- In accordance with policies from the Curriculum Office, documentation of the student’s appeal will be made in the student’s final clerkship evaluation, regardless of the outcome.