title: Clinical simulation training improves the clinical performance of Chinese medical students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Modern medical education promotes medical students' clinical operating capacity rather than the mastery of theoretical knowledge. To accomplish this objective, clinical skill training using various simulations was introduced into medical education to cultivate creativity and develop the practical ability of students. However, quantitative analysis of the efficiency of clinical skill training with simulations is lacking.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present study, we compared the mean scores of medical students (Jinan University) who graduated in 2013 and 2014 on 16 stations between traditional training (control) and simulative training groups. In addition, in a clinical skill competition, the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) scores of participating medical students trained using traditional and simulative training were compared. The data were statistically analyzed and qualitatively described.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results revealed that simulative training could significantly enhance the graduate score of medical students compared with the control. The OSCE scores of participating medical students in the clinical skill competition, trained using simulations, were dramatically higher than those of students trained through traditional methods, and we also observed that the OSCE marks were significantly increased for the same participant after simulative training for the clinical skill competition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, these data indicate that clinical skill training with a variety of simulations could substantially promote the clinical performance of medical students and optimize the resources used for medical education, although a precise analysis of each specialization is needed in the future.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Skills Comprehensive Training Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ming-ya
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Histology and Embryology, Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of the Ministry of Education, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: An-ding
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Liang-ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Division of Histology and Embryology, Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of the Ministry of Education, Medical College, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China; yang_xuesong@126.com.
authors.forename: Xuesong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003479:Curriculum; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D000066908:Simulation Training / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013337:Students, Medical
keywords: clinical skill training; medical student; objective structured clinical examination; simulation