Preceptorship rurality does not affect medical students' shelf exam scores.

Objective: This study's objective was to determine whether junior medical students' end-of-rotation shelf exam scores varied by the preceptorship county's rurality.

Methods: Student learning during rural preceptorship experiences, 1999 to 2005, was assessed using the students' scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners family medicine subject examination. Rurality was measured using both population density and the rural-urban continuum (RUC) codes.

Results: Exam scores were collected between January 1999 and May 2005 for 734 students. Mean scores did not vary significantly by rurality, although they did vary significantly by semester. Test scores of students in rural locations were not statistically significantly different from those of students in urban preceptorships.

Conclusions: Students assigned to preceptorships in rural locations scored at the same levels as students in urban preceptorships. The finding that there were no differences in medical students' exam scores based on the rurality of their family medicine preceptorship site indicates a substantial degree of educational equivalency between urban and rural preceptorships.