title: Does medical students' clinical performance affect their actual performance during medical internship?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study examines the relationship between the clinical performance of medical students and their performance as doctors during their internships.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study involved 63 applicants to a residency programme conducted at the Chonnam National University Hospital, South Korea, in November 2012. We compared the performance of the applicants during their internship with the clinical performance of the applicants during their fourth year of medical school. The performance of the applicants as interns was periodically evaluated by the faculty of each department, while the clinical performance of the applicants as fourth year medical students was assessed using the Clinical Performance Examination (CPX) and the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The performance of the applicants as interns was positively correlated with their clinical performance as fourth year medical students, as measured by CPX and OSCE. The performance of the applicants as interns was moderately correlated with the patient-physician interactions items addressing communication and interpersonal skills in the CPX.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clinical performance of medical students during their fourth year in medical school was related to their performance as medical interns. Medical students should be trained to develop good clinical skills, through actual encounters with patients or simulated encounters using manikins, so that they are able to become competent doctors.
authors.affiliation: Office of Education and Research, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, South Korea.
authors.forename: Eui-Ryoung
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Kyung
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: clinical competence; internship; medical students; physician-patient relationship