Best practices to impart clinical skills during preclinical years of medical curriculum
Volume 9, Issue 3, March 2019, Pages 1-8
. Pradeep Kumar Sahu, . Vijay Kumar Chattu, . Aishwarya Rewatkar, . Sateesh Sakhamuri
Abstract Globally, health is regarded as a booming industry with greater stress being laid on high quality,
accountability, and transparency. Traditional medical curricula rely primarily on clerkships during
the clinical period of study to train clinical skills, while the preclinical period is mainly used to teach
the basic sciences. In recent years, the early introduction of clinical skills training has received
increased attention. This review aims to identify and summarize teaching approaches of clinical
skills for medical students during preclinical years, namely, (1) framing objectives (2) learning
activities, and (3) evaluation strategies. Although the clinical tutor’s role is to ensure that students
receive effective preclinical skills through different modes of learning (lectures, presentations, and
problem‑based learning), the role of advanced technologies, namely, simulation‑based learning
platforms and gamification are found to be very successful. To improve the communication skills,
there is strong evidence in support of role plays, and similarly, for enhancing observation skills, an
introduction of fine arts in clinical skills training was found to be very useful. Medical schools worldwide
should give high priority to conduct faculty development programs on various aspects of training
and teaching modalities, evaluation strategies, and improving the evaluation of various clinical skills.
Students should be provided with sufficient learning opportunities including a well‑equipped clinical
skills laboratory and individual attention, and constructive feedback should be given to students for
building their confidence level during their learning process.