Are ambulatory care-based learning experiences different from those on hospital clinical teaching units?
Teaching and Learning in Medicine 1997; 9:125 130 McLeod and his colleagues studied case mix and medical students’ and residents’ learning experiences in an internal medicine ambulatory care clinic and an inpatient unit. For 6 months, 1 of the authors regularly observed in both settings and conducted semistructured interviews with residents and clerks after patient encounters. There were 3 parts to the interview: a log of the patient’s presenting diagnosis or diagnoses, an indication of which of 16 clinical skills could be learned and practiced during that patient encounter, and a closed-ended questionnaire about the patient. In addition, a questionnaire was sent to the 14 internists who had supervised residents and medical students in the ambulatory setting at some time during the past 10 years. The questionnaire obtained information about the patients seen in that setting and the relevance of various clinical skills to their care. Forty residents and 29 medical students volunteered t
