Assessing third-year medical students' knowledge of and exposure to cleft palate before and after plastic surgery rotation.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate third-year medical students' knowledge of and exposure to cleft palate before and after a rotation in plastic surgery. A 26-item questionnaire was administered to 37 students before and after their 12-week rotation that included the evaluation and management of patients with cleft palate. The questions addressed various aspects of the disorder, including identification of the members of a cleft palate team. Students were also asked about their clinical and academic exposure to cleft palate. When the students' responses to the 19 basic information items about cleft palate and associated problems were compared before and after the rotation, positive changes were documented for 14 of the 19 questions, minimal negative changes for 4, and no change for 1 question. The overall percentage of students indicating any type of clinical or academic exposure to cleft palate increased significantly after the rotation. Findings from this study suggest that an undergraduate clinical rotation in plastic surgery can increase the knowledge of and exposure to cleft palate. It was clear that supplemental learning can occur in other settings outside the classroom through interactions between faculty and students without additional curricular time.