Comparison of Third-year Student Performance in a Twelve-month Longitudinal Ambulatory Program with Performance in Traditional Clerkship Curriculum

Background: The Yankton Ambulatory Program is the oldest 12-month, integrated, longitudinal, ambulatory third-year curricular model in medical schools in the United States and Canada. Students in this program do not complete any clerkships in traditional block schedules.

Purpose: Compare performance of students from the Yankton Ambulatory Program with students from traditional clerkships at the same institution.

Methods: Mean scores on three shelf examinations (Internal Medicine, OB/GYN and Surgery) all taken three times during the year (October, March and June) were compared between Yankton Ambulatory Program students and students from traditional clerkships.

Results: No significant statistical differences were found between Yankton Ambulatory Program students and students from traditional clerkships. There are indications that students in the Yankton Ambulatory Program show a steady increase in fund of knowledge throughout the year with better information retention.

Conclusions: Performance on national shelf board examinations among students in longitudinal programs is equal to performance of students in traditional programs. There also appears to be better retention of knowledge among students in longitudinal programs.