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Research Article: Undergraduate pediatrics clerkship student must-see list: prioritization and agreement between students and faculty in the UAE

Date Published: 2026-07-24

Abstract:
Ensuring reliable exposure to core pediatric problems during the clerkship is challenging when case-mix varies across clinical sites. A data-informed, stakeholder-aligned “must-see” list can focus bedside encounters and guide supplemental teaching. To identify prioritized pediatric illnesses mapped to common clinical presentations, quantify agreement between students and faculty/physicians, and estimate the number of student raters needed for reliable curriculum monitoring. UAE-based cross-sectional survey of undergraduate medical students who completed the pediatrics clerkship and faculty/physicians involved in undergraduate pediatric teaching. Illnesses nested within clinical presentation sections were rated on a 5-point priority scale (5?=?must see, 1?=?must not see). Means ± SEM were summarized by illness and subgroup (students/doctors), illnesses were ranked, and group alignment was examined using Pearson r (95% CI via Fisher z), Spearman rho, and two-way ICCs based on illness-level subgroup means. Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate adjustment was applied to per-presentation tests. A generalizability-theory decision study (D-study) projected reliability (G-coefficient) across different numbers of student raters. Forty-nine usable responses were analyzed (39 students, 10 faculty/physicians). Highest-rated items included asthma, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, gastroenteritis, febrile seizure, iron deficiency anemia, and heart murmur. Students’ and doctors’ illness-level means were strongly aligned (Pearson r?=?0.863, 95% CI 0.794–0.910, p <?0.001; Spearman rho?=?0.867, 95% CI 0.798–0.914, p <?0.001; n =?81). Agreement was good to excellent for subgroup means [ICC(2,1)?=?0.920 (0.841–0.958); ICC(3,1)?=?0.932 (0.862–0.963)]. The D-study indicated that 10 student raters were sufficient to reach G?>?=0.80 in these data (projected G?=?0.949). Students and faculty/physicians showed strong alignment on a practical, presentation-based core of pediatric “must-see” illnesses. Programs can prioritize real-patient exposure for the highest-ranked problems, use simulation or structured cases when exposure is limited, and monitor exposure with low-burden periodic surveys.

Introduction:
Ensuring reliable exposure to core pediatric problems during the clerkship is challenging when case-mix varies across clinical sites. A data-informed, stakeholder-aligned “must-see” list can focus bedside encounters and guide supplemental teaching.

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