The Opinions of Medical Interns about the Acquired Basic Clinical Skills

Background: Establishing centers for clinical skills training in medical schools with the purpose of improving students ability in practical skills has provided an adequate environment for practicing in an experimental setting and consequently can be effective in decreasing the rate of probable mistakes in real situations Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the opinions of interns in Kerman University of Medical Sciences about the rate and sources of acquired basic clinical skills through self evaluation Methods: All available interns of Kerman School of Medicine (including ۱۲۰ ones) who had passed the clinical skills course participated in this cross sectional study in ۲۰۰۴ Data were gathered by an investigator made questionnaire and analyzed by using ttest and ANOVA Results: Based on the results most of the respondents (۹۰۸%) believed in the necessity of a specific course as clinical skills in medical education program In regard to the rate of acquired skills “vital signs measurement” “nasogastric tube insertion” and “patient communication skills” got the highest mean scores (۱۸۳۵ ۱۷۷۶ and ۱۷۳ respectively) in interns selfevaluation while the lowest mean scores belonged to “cauterization” “intubation” and “using surgical set” (۹۰۹ ۱۲۸۴ and ۱۴۱۱ respectively) The percent of selfevaluation total score was ۷۶۷% In regard to the source of acquiring clinical skills “clinical skills center” (۴۱%) “self learning” (۲۹%) and “professors and others” (۲۷%) obtained the highest percents respectively Conclusion: Considering the low self evaluation scores in some skills and the highest percent for clinical skills center as source of acquiring clinical skills improving the quality of training in this center and expanding its activities are necessary