A quantitative analysis comparing pre-clinical volunteering hours with third-year medical students’ preceptor evaluations

Although previous studies suggest the positive impact of volunteering on confidence in clinical abilities, this study suggests no statistically significant correlation between TOUCH hours and preceptor evaluations. Current literature suggests that this may be due to preceptor subjectivity, evaluator and clinical engagement, and grade inflation. Given that evaluations are an important factor in residency interview selection, this study raises the question on how to adapt volunteerism and evaluation standards to better prepare osteopathic medical students for residency and beyond.