Does a Vacation Break Impact the Outcomes of Required Clinical Clerkships?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to assess the impact of disruption by a new 2-week vacation break on outcomes of required third-year clerkships.

METHODS: Mean scores on National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) clerkship specific clinical science subject ("subject") examinations and overall student evaluations were compared for clerkships with the break and those over the previous 3 years without the break. Students were surveyed about the impact of the break on learning and the time spent studying during the break.

RESULTS: No significant differences were found in examination scores between clerkships with the break and those without. Overall student clerkship evaluations were significantly different only for the surgery clerkship. The break was regarded more favorably by students on the 8-week than the 6-week clerkships, but student perspectives varied significantly by specialty. The time reported studying varied significantly by specialty and campus. Student comments were predominantly supportive of the break and focused on the advantages of opportunity to relax, spend time with family, and to study. Concerns included forgetting content knowledge, losing skills, and having difficulty regaining momentum on return to the clerkship.

CONCLUSIONS: Interruption of clerkships by a 2-week break was not associated with any significant change in subject examination scores or overall student evaluation of the clerkship, despite predominantly positive comments. Significant differences were reported by specialty in student perception of benefit and reported time studying during the break.