Educational Value of a One-Week Mandatory Anesthesiology Clerkship: A Cross-Sectional Comparison of Medical Students' Perceptions, Learning Preferences, and Career Interest.

backgroundOne‑week anesthesiology clerkships are common in undergraduate medical curricula, yet their educational yield and influence on career interest remain unclear. Longer rotations have demonstrated improvements in attitudes and specialty consideration, but comparable evidence for short mandatory experiences is limited. This study compared perceptions of anesthesiology among students surveyed before and after a structured one‑week clerkship.

methodsA cross‑sectional design was used at a single medical school. Two independent cohorts of fifth‑year students completed a validated questionnaire: a pre‑clerkship cohort (n = 58) was surveyed before starting the rotation, and a post‑clerkship cohort (n = 54) was surveyed immediately after the final examination. The survey assessed career preferences, attitudes toward anesthesiology, perceived barriers, and preferred learning modalities. Post‑clerkship respondents additionally evaluated satisfaction and perceived educational gains.

resultsA total of 112 students participated (70% response rate). No statistically significant differences were observed across the 13 perception items after Bonferroni correction (all p > 0.0038; effect sizes r = 0.018-0.125). Post‑clerkship students reported improved anesthesia‑related knowledge (55.6%; 30/54) and improved procedural skills (50.0%; 27/54), particularly in airway management and intravenous access. Only 16.7% (9/54) reported increased interest in anesthesiology as a career. Satisfaction with rotation length was low (13.0%; 7/54). Learning preferences shifted toward hands‑on workshops (42.6% [23/54] post‑clerkship vs. 29.3% [17/58] pre‑clerkship).

conclusionsPost-clerkship students more frequently reported anesthesia-related knowledge gains (55.6%; 30/54) and improved procedural skills (50.0%; 27/54) than pre-clerkship students, yet no between-group differences in attitudes or career interest were observed (16.7% [9/54] reporting increased interest). This null finding contributes positively to the evidence base on minimum effective exposure thresholds: one week appears sufficient for foundational learning but insufficient to influence specialty consideration. A notable shift toward hands-on workshops (from 29.3% [17/58] to 42.6% [23/54]) offers an actionable design implication. Longer or longitudinally integrated models are recommended to achieve attitudinal and career-related impact.