Confidence in Procedural Skills before and after a Two-Year Master's Programme in Family Medicine in Gezira State, Sudan.

K G Mohamed,S H Abdelrahman,S Hunskaar,E M Malik

doi:10.1155/2017/6267015

Abstract

Many postgraduate family medicine training programmes have been developed to meet the worldwide dire need for practicing family physicians. This study was conducted in Gezira state of Sudan in a “before-and-after” design in the period of 2010–2012 with the aim to assess improvements in candidates' confidence in performing certain clinical skills. A self-evaluation questionnaire was used with a five-grade scale (1–5) to assess candidates' confidence in performing 46 clinical skills. A group of 108 participants responded for both the “before” and the “after” questionnaire: the response rate was 91% (before) and 90% (after). In general, a positive progress trend was detected. The mean skill value for all skills was 3.23 (before) and 3.93 (after) with a mean increase of 21.7% (P < 0.001). Male students scored constantly higher than females both before and after completing the master's programme, while females showed a higher percentage in progress. Scores in certain medical disciplines were higher than others. However, disciplines with low scores in the beginning, such as psychiatry and ophthalmology, showed the highest progress percentage. The results show a significant increase in confidence in performing procedural skills designed in the curriculum of the GFMP master's programme.

Highlights

Clinical skills represent a major and important part in family medicine practice
Physicians should master a variety of clinical competencies and should be prepared to work in rural areas without easy access to specialist services or advanced technology
The accelerated rate of growth in medical knowledge represents a challenge in medical education [1, 2]

Summary

Introduction

Clinical skills represent a major and important part in family medicine practice. Quality control of postgraduate family medicine training programmes should facilitate the physicians’ role and ensure patient’s safety. It is important to assess the training outcome either objectively (trainee’s competence) or subjectively (confidence) individually or as part of the outcome evaluation of family medicine training programmes. The accelerated rate of growth in medical knowledge represents a challenge in medical education [1, 2]. The inculcation and assessment of clinical skills are an important issue that needs more attention. Additional research is needed in the medical educational context, in view of the continuous reformations of the medical curricula [3, 4]

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Conclusion