title: Self-confidence of medical students in performing clinical skills acquired during their surgical rotation. Assessing clinical skills education in Kuwait.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the self-confidence of clinical years` medical students in performing clinical skills/procedures.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2011 at the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, Kuwait University,  Safat, Kuwait. A questionnaire was used to collect data from students who had completed their surgical rotation of their first clinical year. The students reported their level of self-confidence in performing specific skills/procedures related to that rotation. Data were presented using frequencies and percentages. A total score of confidence was calculated for each student. The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess the association between the students` sociodemographic characteristics and confidence score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 122 students invited to participate in the study, only 15 (12.3%) declined to comply. Most students reported high confidence level (more than 75%) in performing 7 of the 13 history taking/physical examination skills, and 2 of the 39 diagnostic/treatment procedure skills. The highest confidence level was in performing abdominal examination, while the lowest level was in care of Jackson-Pratt drain site and emptying the drain bulb. The total confidence score was significantly higher among males (p=0.021), and students with higher monthly income (p=0.002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical students appeared to have poor self-confidence in performing clinical skills/procedures. Curriculum planners should explore potential reasons, and methods for the improvement of confidence level among medical students in performing skills/procedures they were expected to learn during their surgical rotation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Jumanah A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Karim
authors.forename: Yousef A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Marwan
authors.forename: Ahmed M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dawas
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akhtar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D007730:Kuwait; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult