Objective: Studies assessing rating scales on student evaluations are available. However, there are no data related to the written comments on these evaluations. This study was designed to evaluate these comments.
Methods: A content analysis was performed on the narrative section of pediatric clerks' evaluations. Final evaluations were obtained from 10 outpatient clinical sites staffed by full-time faculty over 14 months. A coding dictionary containing 12 categories (7 linked to clinical skills) was used.
Results: One thousand seventeen comments on 227 evaluations were coded. The mean number of comments per evaluation was 4. Learner and personal characteristics were the largest categories. Normative comments, such as "good physical exam," as opposed to more specific comments, such as "complete presentation," predominated in all categories.
Conclusions: Evaluation comments were infrequently related to basic clinical skills and were not often specific enough to lead to effective change in a student's performance. Faculty development is needed to make final evaluation comments more useful for students.