Defining the role of a medical student during a sub-internship

Abstract

Dharam Persaud-Sharma, Frederick Anderson

Sub-internships (sub-Is) are generally regarded as being highly valued learning experiences and opportunities for matching at a desired residency program. It provides medical students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skillset honed throughout their years of medical education. However, many novice students do not have clear guidelines as to how they are perceived by faculty and administration while they are rotating during their sub-I. This is further complicated by the varying roles of students during an observership, and clinical year core rotations. This brief manuscript aims to provide students with a faculty oriented perspective as to the general expectations of students during clinical training at various stages of their medical education. It is based upon the opinions of a few medical faculty and former residency program directors in family medicine, as well as fourth year medical students reflecting on their sub-I experiences. While content is not generalizable to all specialties of medicine, the conclusions and opinions are shared and applicable to many specialties of medicine.