Keywords: early contact with the patient, medicine, dental medicine, clinical mentor
Background:
Clinical practice is a mandatory component of our newly introduced study program, started in 2021/22. It serves as an integral part of the curriculum throughout the first to fifth year of study, amounting to a total of 300 hours. First and second year students do their clinical practice in primary care setting, focusing on refining communication skills and developing the essential professional values for medical profession. The aim of this work is to present the content, course and experience with clinical practice in the first generation.
Methods:
Upon the completion of the clinical practice, we conducted an online survey to gauge the extent to which the students' expectations regarding the content and implementation of the clinical practice and mentoring were met.
Results:
A total of 304 students participated in the survey, representing a 100% response rate. Among the respondents, 245 were medical students, accounting for 80.6% of the participants, while 59 students (19.4%) were dental medicine students. In terms of gender distribution, 271 participants (71.4%) were female.
The findings indicate that the students' expectations were largely fulfilled. Notably, the highest-rated aspect of the entire course was the practical experience gained in the clinical environment, receiving an average score of 4.79 out of 5.0 (SD 0.56), with 288 students (94.7%) expressing their strong recommendation of their respective primary care mentors to their peers or colleagues.
Conclusion(s):
Primary care practices have proven to be a viable setting for conducting clinical practice for first-year medical and dental students. The experience has demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of incorporating clinical training within these practices. In future, our goal is to further enhance the engagement of first-year students by involving them in team-based activities.
Points for discussion:
Experience with clinical teaching of preclinical years medical and dental medicine students
Train the trainers - how to provide feedback as an assessment method in a clinical setting
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