Gersten Jonker

42   Chapter 2 RESULTS Since October 2014, we have enrolled 47 students in the ACTY (about 7% of yearly cohorts). Until now, our multidisciplinary ACTY is unique in its sort. Other alliances of specialties at UMC Utrecht are currently teaming up to explore theme-oriented dedicated transitional years, following our example. When entering the ACTY, many of the students envision a career in one of the participating specialties. Ninety-two percent of students enrolling in the ACTY primarily aim for a residency in one of the five specialties taking part in the DTY, with 16% of students being strongly determined of their choice. A minority wants to work in a discipline that does not participate in the ACTY (8%). Of all students who are not fully decided in career choice at the start of their DTY, 68% consider specialties which do not take part in the ACTY. The ACTY is open to all final year medical students at UMC Utrecht. Admission to the ACTY is restricted by the limited availability of clinical placements. So far, we have been able to accommodate all interested students thanks to the flexibility in arranging the four placements and our regional collaborative partnership. There is no guarantee for a postgraduate residency placement or an accelerated residency program when taking part in the ACTY. The ACTY is subject of three ongoing evaluative research studies. One study evaluates the efficacy of the ACTY to develop clinical competence in the three multidisciplinary EPAs. A second study explores the experience of students and staff with the ACTY. A third study is a follow-up of graduated students from the ACTY exploring their early careers. DISCUSSION We designed the ACTY around the theme of evaluation and initial management of vitally compromised patients. We have set clearly articulated multidisciplinary learning objectives that are authentic tasks of entering residents. This orientation on a theme, important for future doctors in many specialties, is one of its strengths. It assures enough breadth to graduate as a generalist, whilst offering enough depth to gain useful competence for postgraduate specialty training. Moreover, the theme-orientation and the learning objectives provide coherence in a year consisting of elective rotations.