Differences in Self-Reported Entrustability in Regional Students vs Academic Health Center Students at the End of the Clerkship Year

Purpose: Over one-third of medical schools in the United States have at least one regional medical campus (RMC). As the largest medical school in the nation, Indiana University has nine campuses across the state, with its main campus located in Indianapolis. The primary objective of this study was to assess differences in student selfreported efficacy performing acute care competencies among rising fourth-year medical students who trained at the main campus versus those who trained at regional campuses. Methods: A 10-question survey was developed to evaluate students’ self-efficacy in and judgment of their ability to perform tasks relevant to the acute care competencies. This survey was administered to rising fourth year medical students at Indiana University School of Medicine to assess differences in students at different training locations. Results: A total of 332 rising fourth year medical students completed the survey. Of these, approximately 20% trained at a regional campus. When comparing responses, as a group, regional students reported statistically significant higher self-reported entrustability scores for 2/10 questions and had a higher mean self-reported score on 7/10 questions. Conclusions: Our study illustrates that medical students who trained at a RMC perceived themselves either similarly or better prepared across the acute care competencies compared to Indianapolis students. Additionally, our study supports suggestions of potential advantages to training at a RMC as described in the literature and adds to current data by Kochhar et al (2019).