Effect of early clinical skills teaching on 3rd year medical students' learning: the student perspective

The main purpose of the early introduction of Clinical Skills Learning [CSL] to pre-clinical years is to allow medical students to gain experience in clinical examination skills, basic medical procedures, history-taking and clinical communication. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the early teaching of clinical skills in preparing medical students for their clinical years. A validated questionnaire assessing the value of CSL on students in their first clinical year was distributed to 3rd year medical students. The questionnaire consisted of 8 items with a five-point Likert scale and one open-ended question. The response rate to the questionnaire was approximately 62%. Nearly 97 [70.8%] students suggested that CSL was a favourable teaching strategy. A high percentage of students [90.5%] agreed that CSL was a useful pre-clinical module to prepare them for their clinical years. The students gave positive feedback on the teaching of history-taking and physical examination, exposure to the hospital environment and acquisition of communication skills with supervisors and patients. No student perceived the CSL module as poor. Early CSL was well-perceived by students in preparing them for their clinical years. CSL is a vital part of the pre-clinical curriculum and should be further enriched with frequent hospital visits to enhance students' confidence level and performance when interacting with patients during their clinical years

Assessment of learning environment among the first year Malaysian medical students

Objectives: The quality of the learning environment has been identified to be crucial for effective learning. Medical students' perceptions of learning environments provide a useful foundation for modifying and improving the quality of medical education. The aim of this study was to assess first-year medical students' perceptions of the learning environment in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia [UKM]

Methods: The Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure [DREEM] questionnaire was distributed to all 213 first-year medical students of UKM. The questionnaire contained 50 items scored on a 0-4 Likert scale [total scores could range from 0 to 200]. There were five subscales in the questionnaire, including students' perceptions about learning, teachers, atmosphere, academic self-perceptions, and social self-perceptions

Results: The total DREEM score recorded in this study was 135.6/200, which indicated that medical students' perceptions of the learning environment at UKM were more positive than negative. Students' perceptions of learning, students' perceptions of teachers, students' academic self-perceptions, students' perceptions of atmosphere and students' social self-perceptions scores were 33.04/48, 29.68/44, 22.16/32, 33.11/48 and 17.62/28, respectively. The total DREEM score was significantly higher among female [137.02/200] than male medical students [130.84/200] [p < 0.05]. There was no relationship between the students' perceptions of the learning environment and their academic performance [R = -0.06, p > 0.05]

Conclusion: The study showed that first-year medical students at UKM positively perceived their learning environment. Some low-scoring areas of the learning environment were also identified, which require improvement in the future