Gender and Psychiatric Clerkship Performance

Abstract

This study compared the performance of male and female medical students on a psychiatric clerkship rotation. The women performed at a higher level than the men, although the difference was not significant. In general, the men scored significantly higher on national standardized medical examinations. Correlations between psychiatric clerkship evaluations and national examinations were low, suggesting that the two measures are independent. These findings for psychiatric clerkship are consistent with those for clerkships in medicine, surgery and obstetrics, implying that female clinical clerks are just as capable as male clinical clerks in providing high quality medical care.