Medical semiology: appreciation of teaching and assessment of teachers - Satisfaction survey among students during the 1st year of the 2nd cycle

Objective To know the students' opinion concerning semiology teaching and teachers. Methods Annual enquiry between 1990-91 and 2000-01, before and after a reform increasing to 400 the hours dedicated to medical clerkships in the second and third years of the cursus. Results Before the reform, at least 62% of the students were in favor of the general organization, while a growing percentage (reaching 79.6%; p<0.0001) considered the number of hours dedicated to clinical clerkship as insufficient. Concerning the teachers, the assessment concerning the "assistant heads of departments" (AHD) showed great disparities. Out of 100 teachers-year, 4 obtained a score lesser than 10/20 and 59 greater than 15/20. After the reform, 19 AHD out of 33 obtained more than 15/20 and 5 less than 10/20. The reintroduction of lectures was not criticized. The professors who gave lectures were reproached by the students for delaying them or for not having given them at all. They were also reproached for their lack of relationship with the teaching objectives. The scores allocated to professors ranged from 4.5 to 15.9/20. Conclusion Enhancing the value of teaching for an AHD's university career and reducing the administrative burden for all teachers would be useful to improve medical education, especially in semiology.