• Patricia Régo, Ray Peterson, Leonie Callaway, Michael Ward, Carol O'Brien, and Ken Donald.
• Discipline of Medical Education, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia. p.rego@uq.edu.au
• Med Teach. 2009 Dec 1; 31 (12): e586-95.

IntroductionThe ability to deliver the traditional apprenticeship method of teaching clinical skills is becoming increasingly more difficult as a result of greater demands in health care delivery, increasing student numbers and changing medical curricula. Serious consequences globally include: students not covering all elements of clinical skills curricula; insufficient opportunity to practise clinical skills; and increasing reports of graduates' incompetence in some clinical skills.MethodsA systematic Structured Clinical Coaching Program (SCCP) for a large cohort of Year 1 students was developed, providing explicit learning objectives for both students and paid generalist clinical tutors. It incorporated ongoing multi-source formative assessment and was evaluated using a case-study methodology, a control-group design, and comparison of formative assessment scores with summative Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) scores.ResultsStudents demonstrated a higher level of competence and confidence, and the formative assessment scores correlated with the Research students' summative OSCE scores. SCCP tutors reported greater satisfaction and confidence through knowing what they were meant to teach. At-risk students were identified early and remediated.DiscussionThe SCCP ensures consistent quality in the teaching and assessment of all relevant clinical skills of all students, despite large numbers. It improves student and teacher confidence and satisfaction, ensures clinical skills competence, and could replace costly OSCEs.

23 keywords...

hide…