Abstract
BackgroundMedical students show varying clinical practical skills when entering their final year clinical clerkship, which is the final period to acquire and improve practical skills prior to their residency. We developed a one-on-one mentoring program to allow individually tailored teaching of clinical practical skills to support final year students with varying skill sets during their neurosurgical clinical clerkship.MethodsEach participating student (n = 23) was paired with a mentor. At the beginning students were asked about their expectations, teaching preferences and surgical interest. Regular meetings and evaluations of clinical practical skills were scheduled every 2 weeks together with fixed rotations that could be individually adjusted. The one-on-one meetings and evaluations with the mentor gave each student the chance for individually tailored teaching. After completion of the program each student evaluated their experience.ResultsThe mentoring program was well received by participating students and acquisition or improvement of clinical practical skills was achieved by most students. A varying practical skill level and interest in the field of surgery was seen.ConclusionsA neurosurgical one-on-one mentoring program is well received by final year medical students and allows for individually tailored learning of clinical practical skills.
Highlights
Medical students show varying clinical practical skills when entering their final year clinical clerkship, which is the final period to acquire and improve practical skills prior to their residency
Its potential in a obstetrics and gynecology clerkship has been demonstrated with the result that it was well received by medical students [7]
When asked to list clinical practical skills they wished to acquire during the final year clinical clerkships 26% (6/ 23) indicated basic skills like drawing blood, physical examination techniques and general ward work, while 70% (16/23) listed more advanced skills like sonography, lumbar puncture and placing central lines
Summary
Medical students show varying clinical practical skills when entering their final year clinical clerkship, which is the final period to acquire and improve practical skills prior to their residency. We have observed a marked difference among final year medical students regarding their clinical practical skills This may be based on differences in individual interest, practical talent and dexterity as well as the educational quality of prior clinical rotations. Daily clinical practice provides limited time for teaching doctors for assessing and supporting practical skills and deficits of medical students on an individual basis [6]. This is especially difficult in a busy large university hospital where students are expected to integrate quickly in a large team of medical personnel (residents with differing grades of clinical and didactic experience, nurses, physiotherapists, specialized technicians etc.). Its potential in a obstetrics and gynecology clerkship has been demonstrated with the result that it was well received by medical students [7]
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