Ready to work or not quite? Self-perception of practical skills among medical students from Serbia ahead of graduation

AIM To assess final year medical students' self-perception of their practical skills. METHODS The study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade during compulsory practical sessions in the period December 2-9, 2013 and 390 students agreed to participate (response rate 77.8%). The questionnaire included questions on demographic characteristics, 21 questions on students' self-perception of their practical skills, and 1 question on students' self-perceived readiness to start working with patients. RESULTS Cronbach's α for the entire scale was 0.891. Students felt most confident about measuring arterial pulse and blood pressure and taking patients' history (average score 10 for all three skills) and least confident about placing a urinary catheter (average score 1) and suturing a wound (average score 2). They rated their readiness to work with patients with 5.0 out of 10.0 points. The total score did not correlate with students' average mark (Spearman's ρ=0.039; P=0.460) and the average mark did not correlate with the self-perceived readiness to work with patients (Spearman's ρ=-0.048; P=0.365). CONCLUSION Our study suggests that medical students lack confidence to perform various clinical procedures, particularly those related to surgical interventions. To improve students' confidence, clinical curriculum should include either more hours of practical work or ensure closer supervision of practical training in wards.