Assessing knowledge about the Americans with Disabilities Act and comfort level in treating persons with disabilities among fourth-year medical students following a clerkship in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

The study was done at one medical school with a mandatory PM&R clerkship and a strong PM&R department, so the results may not apply to schools without similar access. Only 58% of fourth-year students completed both surveys, so more motivated students may be overrepresented. There was no control group, and the same students were compared before and after the clerkship. The clerkship included several components at once, including clinical experiences, revised lectures, first-hand accounts, and a written assignment, so the effect of any one part cannot be separated. The outcomes were student self-reports, not observed clinical behavior or patient care results, and long-term effects were not measured. About one quarter of participants had prior PM&R rotations, which may have changed their starting knowledge and comfort.

The institution's research association funded the project, and the authors reported no competing interests, grants, equipment, or financial benefits.

Do not read this as proof that the clerkship improves actual patient care or that the ADA lectures alone caused the change. The study used a pre- and postclerkship survey of student self-reported knowledge and comfort at one school, with multiple clerkship components and no control group or patient outcomes.