Evaluation of an Internal Medicine Transition to Residency Course

The Association of American Medical Colleges, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and several other leading organizations have increasingly emphasized the importance of the undergraduate medical education-to-graduate medical education transition in the development of physician trainees. As part of this process, transition to residency (TTR), or “boot camp,” courses aim to ensure that graduating fourth-year medical students are prepared for internship; however, the data regarding the efficacy of Internal Medicine TTR courses are limited. This article presents a curricular evaluation of a recently developed Internal Medicine TTR course. Abstract Objectives We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel Internal Medicine (IM) transition to residency (TTR) curriculum. Methods We performed a paired pre-/postsurvey evaluation of graduating fourth-year medical students’ perceived preparedness and medical knowledge after participating in a recently developed IM TTR course. Results The response rate was 51% (24 of 47). There was a significant improvement in 15 of 17 perceived preparedness items and significant improvement in the medical students’ performance on the 8-question medical knowledge test. Conclusions The IM TTR curriculum improved medical students’ medical knowledge and perceived preparedness for internship on a variety of high-yield clinical topics. The curriculum may be appealing to other institutions that are developing or revamping TTR courses.