A session of multiple choice questions in the orientation process to the adolescent medicine rotation.

Background: Although adolescent health care training curricula for resident physicians have been developed during the past 2 decades, little is known about the orientation process to the adolescent medicine rotation.

Description: Since 1996, we have incorporated a session consisting of 40 multiple-choice questions (MCQ) in the orientation process to our hospital-based adolescent medicine rotation. In this study, we evaluated residents' opinions about the MCQ format.

Evaluation: An anonymous questionnaire was distributed in 2002 to 123 resident physicians who had gone through an adolescent medicine rotation between 1996 and 2002. A total of 68 physicians responded (55% response rate). Almost all respondents (99%) stated that the MCQ session was a good format to use during orientation to adolescent medicine. Most (85%) said that it previewed issues that they had to face during the rotation, 74% said that it allowed them to think about issues in adolescent medicine, and 65% said that it directed them to subjects they needed to read about for this rotation. About 45% of respondents stated that the MCQ session increased their level of comfort with seeing adolescent patients on the first few days of the rotation. The majority of respondents (71%) stated that an attending needed to personally review the answers with the residents. Of these, all said that the attending could expand and explore the issues, and 71% said that the attending could show locations and use of certain instruments (orchidometer, scoliometer, etc.) related to questions. Almost a fifth (18%) preferred to receive a printed answer sheet that they could review privately. Of these, 58% feared that review with an attending might prejudice the attending against them if they had errors, and 25% stated that it would be too stressful for them to have the attending check their answers on the 1st day of the rotation. Most respondents (87%) recommended that the MCQ format be used as part of the orientation process to other rotations as well.

Conclusions: Resident physicians viewed the MCQ session as a good format to use in the orientation process to the adolescent medicine rotation. A review of the answers with an attending was preferred over receiving a printed answer sheet.