student evaluations and grading

Every student will be evaluated for their clinical competencies on the designated form by their Ward Service Attending, Consult Service Attending and Outpatient Clinic Attending. Neurology residents also on the service may assist in the evaluation, but face-to-face feedback is given by the Attending to the student. The Ward or Consult Service student evaluation given after the second week of the clerkship month counts toward the student’s grade, and is not informal feedback. Any suggestions from this second week evaluation, however, may guide student performance for the remainder of the clerkship. The other Ward or Consult Service evaluation is given after the fourth week, as is the Outpatient Clinic evaluation. Any student not having their directly observed neurological exam verified by their Outpatient Clinic Attending on this form needs to see the Clerkship Director to arrange remediation. If a student works with two different Ward Service Attendings during the same two week period (NeuroICU and Ward Service), an evaluation form should be given to each Attending. It is the responsibility of the student to approach their assigned Attending, give them the evaluation form, and arrange a mutual meeting time to discuss it.
Attendings will “check off” the description that best describes the student’s demonstrated ability for each competency on the evaluation form. For grade calculations, each descriptor is weighted from 1 to 5 points (descriptors in the extreme left column are “1”, while descriptors in the extreme right column are “5”). If a student receives an unsatisfactory “1” from two or more attendings, that competency will be reported as “does not meet expectations” in the on-line student profile; while an unsatisfactory “1” from a single attending leads to a “concerns” comment in the on-line student profile. All other ratings (2, 3, 4 or 5) are reported as “meets expectations” in the student’s on-line competency profile. Each evaluation form will be scored as the percentage of points achieved out of the maximum number of points, in calculating the final clerkship grade. Each attending is also asked to write summative comments on the student evaluation form. Each student must also give their attending a paper copy of their on-line Student Neuro Log at the time of their 2 nd or 4 th week evaluation, which the attending will evaluate and sign. Failure to produce the SNL here prompts a “Concerns” comment in the on-line student profile under Professionalism. Failure to enter any Student Neuro Log patient data on-line (from yellow pocket cards) by clerkship’s end will create a “does not meet expectations” rating for the Professionalism competency, as well as a deduction of 5 points from the final grade. Deliver 2nd week evaluation forms to Jackie Greer when completed.

Regarding the Medical Knowledge competency, a student scoring less than 60% on the final 100 question exam “does not meet expectations,” and the student receives an “incomplete” grade for the clerkship. This grade is changed to P (pass), if the student successfully retakes and passes another version of the 100 question exam four weeks later. Failure (less than 60%) on the retest leads to repeating the entire clerkship for a month.
If the time for hospital ward or consult rounds becomes limited, patient cases may be only discussed orally. Any student desiring more feedback on their written H&Ps or consultations should E mail the clerkship director with the date of that report and the patient’s medical record number (not name).
On the last day of the clerkship, there are no patient care responsibilities, and students will take two on-line examinations: (1) a patient case vignette videotape examination, and (2) a 100 multiple-choice question test. The patient case vignette videotape exam consists of 25 on-line, multiple choice questions pertaining to 12 videotaped patients from the Practical Neurology DVD Review, accessible on-line (Neurology LUMEN webpage ). One hour is given for this test, which constitutes a standardized clinical skills exercise. Please bring your earphones for this test. The 100 question examination consists of written patient cases or scenarios, in National Step Exam (Boards) format, some accompanied by CT or MRI images, patient graphics or EEG recordings. Three hours is given for this test, which covers the major aspects and diseases of Neurology detailed in the Neurology Clerkship Learning Objectives. After completing the final examinations, each student must complete an on-line evaluation of the clerkship. Failure to do so will generate a comment under “Concerns” for Professionalism in the student profile.
The final Neurology Clerkship grade is calculated as follows:

40% of grade = 100 multiple-choice question exam score

20% of grade = patient case vignette video exam score

40% of grade = Neurology attending clinical evaluations from

Ward Service (15%), Consult Service (15%) and Outpatient Clinic (10%)

Final grades of 90-100 points are Honors (H), 80-89 points are High Pass (HP) and 60-79 points are Pass (P). A final grade less than 60 points will be remediated at the discretion of the Clerkship Director and SSOM administration.