PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Karim, Jumanah A.
AU  - Marwan, Yousef A.
AU  - Dawas, Ahmed M.
AU  - Akhtar, Saeed
TI  - Self-confidence of medical students in performing clinical skills acquired during their surgical rotation. Assessing clinical skills education in Kuwait
DP  - 2012 Dec 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 1310--1316
VI  - 33
IP  - 12
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/33/12/1310.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/33/12/1310.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2012 Dec 01; 33
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To assess the self-confidence of clinical years’ medical students in performing clinical skills/procedures.METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2011 at the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait. A questionnaire was used to collect data from students who had completed their surgical rotation of their first clinical year. The students reported their level of self-confidence in performing specific skills/procedures related to that rotation. Data were presented using frequencies and percentages. A total score of confidence was calculated for each student. The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess the association between the students’ sociodemographic characteristics and confidence score.RESULTS: Of the 122 students invited to participate in the study, only 15 (12.3%) declined to comply. Most students reported high confidence level (>75%) in performing 7 of the 13 history taking/physical examination skills, and 2 of the 39 diagnostic/treatment procedure skills. The highest confidence level was in performing abdominal examination, while the lowest level was in care of Jackson-Pratt drain site and emptying the drain bulb. The total confidence score was significantly higher among males (p=0.021), and students with higher monthly income (p=0.002).CONCLUSION: Medical students appeared to have poor self-confidence in performing clinical skills/procedures. Curriculum planners should explore potential reasons, and methods for the improvement of confidence level among medical students in performing skills/procedures they were expected to learn during their surgical rotation.