Abstract
BACKGROUND: Given the option of preferencing rotations for a 3rd year core surgery clerkship, we observed students often requested services perceived as less time-intensive. We compare self-reported duty hours with academic outcomes. METHODS: We examined duty hours from 165 third-year medical students on a surgery clerkship at a single institution for academic year 2016-2017. Partial correlations and logistic regression modeling were used to assess the number of hours medical students worked on academic outcomes. RESULTS: Medical student duty hours did not significantly correlate with the NBME Surgery Subject examination score (r = 0.08; p = 0.34), CPE score (r = 0.14; p = 0.09) or a clerkship grade of Honors (OR 0.993; CI 0.925-1.065). Prior completion of an internal medicine clerkship was correlated with a higher NBME Surgery Subject examination score (r = 0.27; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This analysis demonstrates duty hours on a surgical clerkship do not correlate with academic performance. These data can be used to counsel students on career planning and choosing surgical rotations based on interest and not perceived workload.