Confidence in essential procedural skills of Thai medical graduates

Abstract

Background: This study is aimed to survey the confidence levels as well as clinical experience of Thai medical graduates in performing essential procedures. Methods and findings: A questionnaire was developed to survey the confidence levels of the new graduates during the academic year 2012 in performing the 17 selected essential procedural skills, using a 1-5 rating scale with 4-5 deemed ‘satisfactory’ along with their learning experience, categorized as 0, 10 cases. Ninety-nine medical graduates completed the questionnaire (62.7%). The mean confidence levels of the essential procedures varied from; 3.35 to 4.57, with the highest in wound suturing whilst the lowest was in newborn resuscitation. Confidence was significantly related to clinical experience. More than 90% of the graduates with experience of more than 10 cases indicated satisfactory confidence in all procedures with the exception of newborn resuscitation. With clinical experience of 5-10 cases, more than 70% of graduates were confident in performing all procedures except endotracheal intubation. Conclusions: Confidence in performing essential procedural skills varied among procedures, depending on clinical experience and the type of procedure. Because of this, we strongly recommend the establishment of minimum requirements, for each procedure, be implemented. Our recommendation would be that at least 10 cases for life-saving skills and 5-10 cases for other essential procedures be required.