Purpose
Medical students tend to perform worse in clerkship rotations earlier in their clinical training compared to those that occur later. The transition from pre-clerkship to clerkship is associated with a shift in responsibilities, lifestyle, and learning modalities and thus can affect students’ confidence and professional identity. To mitigate these outcomes, some institutions have implemented a Transition to Clerkship Course (TTCC) focusing on providing students with educational resources and practical skills necessary to succeed in the clinical environment. We sought to investigate the efficacy of a pilot TTCC in improving confidence in second year Texas A&M College of Medicine students entering clerkship.

Methods
A total of 46 students enrolled in the optional TTCC, which was comprised of five half-day sessions held once weekly. Baseline survey data was obtained utilizing a 5-point Likert scale assessing confidence levels in each skill. Following each session, students repeated the same survey. An average of 27 students completed each survey. Comparative analysis between the pre- and post-surveys was performed using a two-tailed t-test with a significance level of p<0.05.

Results
There was a statistically significant increase in student confidence across all skills assessed and taught in the pilot TTCC, including specialty-specific patient presentations, suturing, hand-tying, interpreting x-rays, and using/identifying various hospital equipment. All participating students reported that they somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement, "I feel more confident entering clerkships after completing this pilot course."

Conclusion
TTCC was successful in helping students increase confidence in various clinical skills before beginning clerkship. Further studies are required to assess the longitudinal effectiveness of this course during and after the clerkship curriculum.