Abstract

See one, do one, teach one!"- the uphill struggle for clinical skills acquisition

Author(s): Dr Raina Nazar,Mr Henry O Andrews MBBS,Dr Raina Nazar

The transformation from medical student to physician is a gradual process, requiring the assimilation of vast amounts of knowledge as well as the development of clinical skills. The junior trainee however, is expected to make several independent decisions during the course of their day to day practice including performing clinical procedures. Experience has shown that each doctor comes with a variety of skill mixes depending on previous training, exposure and experience. No two doctors will have the same abilities. Each doctor also has different degrees of competence for the variety of skills they possess. These inequalities do create anxieties both for the trainees and the trainers. Quality assurance and safety in patient care is the ultimate goal in clinical skills acquisition. How does a stark novice become proficient, or at least competent in the “required” skills expected for their practice? What are the challenges in the way towards utopia? This article focuses on the anecdotal scenarios, and trainee experiences, and also includes narratives of literature review.