Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Medical students may find practical aspects of the transition to FY1 doctor challenging. In recent years medical curriculums have been updated to address this issue by increasing the emphasis on assistantships and practical learning. We explored how prepared final year medical students felt for managing common scenarios in geriatrics, such as a patient with delirium or inpatient falls. This allowed us to develop a tailored teaching programme to be delivered by junior doctors with relevant practical experience.
METHODS:
1) We surveyed assistantship students in geriatrics to identify areas in which knowledge and confidence were lacking. We subsequently developed a tailored teaching programme to address these gaps, focusing on practical tasks and common scenarios.
2) We delivered teaching to 3 sets of assistantship students, each receiving two teaching sessions per week for their 4 week placement.
3) Quantitative & Qualitative (Likert Scale) feedback was sought using a standardised feedback form. We used QI methodology to update and improve our curriculum & delivery to match students’ learning needs.
RESULTS:
• Over the course of the teaching programme, 89 feedback forms were completed.
• 54.8% of students felt “unprepared” or “somewhat unprepared” whilst only 18% felt “prepared” or “somewhat prepared”.
• Following the teaching session, only 2.3 % felt “unprepared” or “somewhat unprepared. Those feeling “prepared” or “somewhat prepared” improved to 92%.
• 91% found the teaching relevant to their learning needs. • 91% rated teaching quality 5/5.
CONCLUSIONS: Students felt ill-equipped to manage many practical aspects of FY1. Junior Doctors are uniquely placed to address the practical knowledge gaps final year medical students may have. Our teaching programme greatly improved the students’ confidence on practical tasks and scenarios commonly encountered while working as an FY1 doctor. It was a valuable supplement to assistantship placements, and will be incorporated for future years.