@article{10.22454/FamMed.2025.0354,
author = {Rohrberg, Tessa and Rakestraw, Dulcinea and Irwin, Gretchen and Fisher, Lynn and Hursey, Mary},
title = {Do Increased Clerkship Duty Hours Impact NBME Examination Scores?},
journal = {Family Medicine},
volume = {0},
number = {0},
year = {1},
month = {1},
doi = {10.22454/FamMed.2025.0354},
abstract = {Background and Objectives: Medical students often express concern that increased clinical demands during clerkships reduce study time and affect standardized examination performance. This study evaluated the relationship between hours worked during the family medicine clerkship and National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) family medicine subject examination scores.Methods: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, single-institution exploratory study of students who completed an 8week family medicine clerkship from 2022 to 2025. We calculated total hours worked from weekly student time logs. NBME scores were obtained from academic records. We used Pearson correlation and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine associations.Results: We analyzed data from 206 students. We found a positive correlation between hours worked and NBME scores (r = 0.21, P = 0.002). Students were grouped by total hours worked: ≤330, 331–374, and ≥375. ANOVA showed significant differences across groups: F (2, 203) = 6.14, P = 0.003. Post hoc comparisons revealed that students in the ≤330 hour group scored significantly lower than those in the other two groups. We observed the highest average scores in the 331–374 group. We found no significant difference between the other groups.Conclusions: Modest increases in clerkship workload were associated with higher NBME examination performance. Students in the lowest workload tertile scored significantly lower than students in the other two groups; however, the overall association was weak, and these findings should not be interpreted as evidence of a specific workload threshold. Yet, results may inform clerkship scheduling, support faculty in balancing workload and academic demands, and guide students in planning time effectively during clinical rotations.},
URL = {https://journals.stfm.org//familymedicine/online-first/rakestraw-0354/},
eprint = {https://journals.stfm.org//media/fc1lw0yx/fammed-2025-0354.pdf},
}