One year's experience with a clinical skills resource centre.
OBJECTIVE
To describe our experience of teaching clinical skills to first-year medical students in a new problem-based curriculum.


METHODS
Prospective evaluation of clinical skills acquisition using objective measures.


METHODS
Students were taught in a purpose-designed clinical skills resource centre in weekly structured sessions.


METHODS
All 210 first year medical undergraduates in the first year of a new problem-based and clinically oriented course.


RESULTS
Student performance in structured objective examinations improved over 1 year. In all but one of nine matched stations, involving history, examination and procedural skills, improvements were significant. Ninety-three per cent thought that the appropriateness of the skills training course to other course elements was 'good' or 'very good'.


CONCLUSIONS
First-year medical students can learn a wide range of clinical skills. Integrated teaching of clinical skills improves satisfaction with undergraduate studies.
Bradley
P
P
Clinical Skills Resource Centre, Liverpool, UK. pbradley@liv.ac.uk
Bligh
J
J
D002983:Clinical Competence; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D004739:England; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D013664:Teaching Materials