The New Zealand medical journal
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Junior doctors face several challenges including how to acquire procedural skills as they embark on their professional careers. There has been a trend away from the less structured opportunistic teaching style of senior doctors towards teaching procedural skills in short courses in skills training centres. ⋯ The procedural skills course produced a significant increase in confidence in the short term, but this decreased unless there was ongoing clinical experience with the procedure. The benefit of short courses is eroded by the lack of reinforcement through continuing experience.