The State of Clinical Competencies of Medical Students in Performing Basic Clinical Procedures at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and Health Services

Abstract Introduction. This survey was performed to assess the competency level of last year medical students (Interns) in performing 20 selected basic clinical procedures as well as the effect of learning opportunities on their competency level. Methods. 200 randomly selected interns were asked to fill a questionnaire in order to self-assess their competency in performing 20 procedures and to record the ones they used in practice. These procedures were selected from current educational programs, according to expert opinion. They were also asked about the related learning opportunities they faced in clinical wards. The 20 selected procedures were divided into three groups by employing factor analysis with Varimax rotation (KMO=0.87). Results. The mean level of skills for the first group (general techniques) was 51.4%. Students assessed their level of skills "poor" for lumbar puncturing, airway intubation, splinting, chest tube insertion, and removal of superficial foreign bodies from the ear and the eye. They learnt most of the techniques through observation. Most of the students performed the procedures without direct supervision of teachers or residents. The majority of the students did not have the opportunity to use manikins for learning. Conclusion. The results suggested that competence of the students in performing most of the procedures was insufficient and most of them did the procedures without the needed training. It is recommended that using some educational facilities including skill labs and student assessment methods including OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation) can play an important role in improving students’ level of skills in performing clinical procedures, especially before working as interns at clinical wards and in order to respect patients’ rights.