Patient Encounter Clinical Skills Workshops to Supplement the Clinical Clerkship

Background: Direct observation and feedback regarding clinical skills does not consistently occur in inpatient services. Further, the spectrum of patients encountered on inpatient services is narrow. Description: As part of our combined medicine-surgery 3rd-year clerkship, we designed a series of patient encounter clinical skills workshops. The workshops followed an objective, structured clinical examination format with students rotating to various stations, each of which addresses a different clinical skill. Actual or standardized patients were interviewed and examined at most stations, with faculty from appropriate disciplines present to provide standardized feedback and instruction according to preset curricular objectives. Evaluations: Students generally agree that the workshops provided them an opportunity to practice and receive feedback about their clinical skills. End-of-clerkship objective structured clinical examinations tested students' mastery of the skills learned in the workshops. Conclusion: Our patient encounter clinical skills workshops ensured direct observation and feedback regarding clinical skills and also exposed students to a wider variety of patient problems than inpatient services afforded.