Evaluation Components
Your clerkship grade will be based on the three components described in the following paragraphs.
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Clinical Evaluation - Faculty and residents at your clerkship site will rate your performance on a Family Medicine Clerkship Clinical Rating Form.
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Formal Patient Presentation - You will make a formal patient presentation during your clerkship. The
site coordinator must approve your presentation topic in advance and will tell you the time and location of your presentation. You are responsible for meeting the requirements of the presentation that are described in the
Helpful Hints section.
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NBME Family Medicine Specialty Examination - You will complete the National Board of Medical Examiners’ Family Medicine Subject Examination in the Department of Family medicine on Friday afternoon of your last day of the clerkship. The
Helpful Hints section contains some specific suggestions that will help you prepare for and take the examination.
Students will receive a
flyer with the exam time and location at orientation. Postponement of the exam will be allowed for a student ONLY for emergency situations or urgent family matters. Students must contact the Course Director for approval at the earliest possible notice.
Other Course Requirements:
Successful completion of the course also includes:
* completion of the Clinical Passport
* attendance at didactics and completion of required assignments
* participation in all scheduled activities.
* NEW: Completion of 3 web-based cases.
Failure to fulfill all the course requirements may affect your final grade.
Percentage of Clerkship Grade by Component
50% Clinical Evaluation
30% NBME Family Medicine Specialty Examination
20% Formal Patient Presentation
Determination of Your Clerkship Grade
Your overall clerkship average will be based on the percentage weight of the three evaluation components as shown in the previous table.
The Department of Family and Community Medicine reserves the right to assign a lower or failing grade for the entire clerkship if a student has performed in an unsatisfactory manner or has exhibited unprofessional or unethical behavior.
EXAM FAILURE: Receiving a score of 59 or below on the exam.
COURSE FAILURES: A student with a final clerkship score for the rotation of less than 76.0 or an exam failure will receive a D for the final course grade. Any student who fails the clerkship for any reason will need to repeat both the course and the exam.
Any student who fails to successfully complete 3 web-based cases by the last day of the rotation will have 2 points deducted from their overall course grade.
Grade Distribution and Availability
Final course grades will be determined four times each academic year by combining students from three rotation periods. The distribution of grades for the course will be approximately: 20% A, 30% B , 40% B, 10% C. Any student with a final score for the rotation of less than 76.0 or an exam failure will receive a D for their final grade.
An email will be sent to each student when final grades are available on the Student Affairs website approximately seven weeks after every third period (periods 3, 6, 9, and 12). In order for students to have some information about their grade, an email will be sent with their NBME exam score and rank on the exam, about two weeks post rotation.
To illustrate the grading process: if there are 20 students in Period 1, 20 students in Period 2, and 20 students in Period 3, we will assign grades for all 60 students after Period 3. They will be ranked by final score. The top 20% (approximately 12 students) will receive an A.
Concerns about the Clerkship Grade or Clinical Evaluation
Clerkship File
After receiving your clerkship grade, you may review your clerkship file in DF0.338 (Clinical Building 1). It will contain all your clinical evaluations, patient presentation evaluations, and NBME Exam score. You are encouraged to review your file to identify your strengths and needs. Addressing those needs may help you perform better in future clerkships.
Grade Challenges
Grades are calculated centrally by the Department of Family and Community Medicine after all three components of the final grade have been received. Grades are NOT assigned by the site coordinator and they should not be contacted regarding a grade question or challenge. If you wish to challenge your clerkship grade or any of its components, please telephone Carolyn Lindeman at (214) 648-1382 to arrange an appointment with the Clerkship Director. A standardized grade challenge form must be completed and returned within 6 weeks after receiving your grade. Only written grade challenges are considered by the Department’s Student Evaluation and Promotion Committee. The committee will review and respond to your challenge within six weeks of its receipt.
Feedback Process
Throughout the Family Medicine Clerkship, you are encouraged to seek feedback from the various preceptors you will work with during the four weeks. The clerkship directors are also interested in your feedback regarding the clerkship itself.
At the mid-point of the clerkship, you will participate in a formal feedback session with your site coordinator. You will be given the opportunity to review your clinical performance, Clinical Passport, and perceptions of the clerkship up to that point.
On the last Friday of the clerkship, at the NBME exam, you will complete a confidential evaluation form about your clerkship experiences. After you have sealed the completed evaluation form in the envelope provided, return it to the exam proctor. Information from the student evaluation is used to give specific feedback to each of the clerkship sites and to provide general insight for the overall management of the clerkship. These forms are not examined until grades are submitted. Your responses will in no way affect your clerkship evaluation or grade.
