Effect of curriculum change on exam performance in a 4-week psychiatry clerkship.

Objective: The authors investigated whether curriculum change could produce improved performance, despite a reduction in clerkship length from 8 to 4 weeks.

Methods: The exam performance of medical students completing a 4-week clerkship in psychiatry was compared to national data from the National Board of Medical Examiners' Psychiatry Subject Examination and the United States Medical Licensure Examination Step 2 CK psychiatry and mental disorders subtests.

Results: Curriculum change and restructuring to a 4-week psychiatry clerkship resulted in above-average and sustained improvement on nationally standardized assessment measures.

Conclusions: Examination performance can be optimized despite a 50% reduction in the duration of a psychiatry clerkship.