Performance evaluation of graduates from a community-based curriculum: the housemanship period at Gezira

The housemanship performance of the first two classes of the University of Gezira Medical School was assessed on 107 occasions by using a questionnaire administered to the senior doctors (consultants) in the units in which they worked and the data, which covered 32% of all housemanship rotations taken by these graduates, were analysed. On a 5-point scale (poor to excellent) the rating of performance for 26 questions was average and above (S = 3: + S = 4: + S = 5) in 95% of instances. The good and excellent rating (S = 4 + S = 5) for the same questions was about 80%. The grand mean for rating of questions in the cognitive, psychomotor and attitudes domain was 4.1, 3.9 and 4.2 out of 5 respectively. The graduates were found to be better off (45%), comparable to (50%) and less than (5%) when compared to other graduates who worked with the same consultants in the past. Results of three general questions inquiring about graduates' practice safety, overall standing and consultants' preference for Gezira graduates had a 95% positive rating. It is concluded that these results provide significant positive answers for some basic questions concerning credibility which are often raised about Gezira and similar schools with innovative medical curricula.