[Self-assessment of clinical skills among medical trainees when entering internship during the spring seasons 1998]. / Laegers vurdering af deres kliniske faerdighedsniveau ved påbegyndelse af turnus i foråret 1998.

The aim of this study is to identify medical trainees' level of self-reported clinical skills when entering internship. A questionnaire was sent to 124 trainees, who were about to enter their internship. The questionnaire included 88 questions on clinical skills, asking the trainees to rate their level of mastership on a Visual Analogue Scale from zero to ten, 0 = not mastering and 10 = mastering. In total one hundred (81%) returned the questionnaire. There is considerable variation in the self reported acquisition of clinical skills in many of the procedures. In some basic procedures most trainees showed a rather high level of mastership, above 7.5, but in other basic procedures about half of the candidates report a level of mastership below 5.0. A more thorough specification of objectives for practical skills would make it easier to plan an effective and efficient training during internship.

[Self-reported skills in practical procedures among young physicians]. / Unge legers selvrapporterte praktiske ferdigheter.

There is at present no consensus as to which clinical procedures a student should be able to perform after graduation. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the self-reported skills level in practical procedures among graduates from the medical schools in Norway. A questionnaire was mailed to all students who entered internship between July 1996 and January 1998. They were asked to indicate on a visual-analogue scale the level of skill he or she had acquired in 88 practical clinical procedures. 519 of 621 (84%) graduates replied; 89% started internship immediately after graduation. Graduates from Tromsø reported significantly better skills than graduates from Oslo and Bergen. There was considerable variation within and between the universities with respect to several procedures. Overall, men reported a significantly better skills level than their female colleges. The present study demonstrates that the skills level in several procedures vary considerably between candidates graduating from different Norwegian universities after undergraduate medical education. For some procedures the skills level is, in our opinion, disquietingly low. The results of this survey indicate that teaching of clinical procedures in medical school is often random and of inferior quality. There is a need for a systematic approach and a national consensus on the clinical procedures to be acquired and the levels of skills to be attained.