Mismatch between student and tutor evaluation of training needs: a study of traumatology rotations

OBJECTIVE: An e-portfolio was used to determine the optimal number of times students need to repeat a procedure before they are fully capable of performing it without supervision. The results were compared with the actual number of repetitions performed during the internship period. We also asked these students and their teachers about the optimal number of times each skill should be repeated before it could be considered fully acquired. The questionnaire was answered by 98.6% of the students and 70.3% of their teachers. RESULTS: Both students and teachers agreed on a similar optimal value for 16 out of the 21 clinical procedures selected; in the remaining 5, teachers thought that students needed to repeat the procedure more times than the number stated by students. When these optimal values were compared with the actual values recorded in the portfolio during the internships, it was found that about half of all clinical procedures were carried out fewer times than expected, thus providing important feedback about the rotation-based training process. Quantitative information collected in the portfolios revealed a moderate mismatch between students' and teachers' perceptions of training needs.