AN INTENSIVE COURSE IN CLINICAL SKILLS - THE UPPSALA MODEL

Due to dissatisfaction with the existing clinical skills course a new model was designed. The Key problems were lack of feedback from the te achers, too little involvement, students' feelings of insecurity and i nadequacy, being overwhelmed by the task, and insufficient follow-up. The new course was built on a personal relation between student and te acher, reduction of tutor's patient workload during the 4 week of the course, a personal responsibility for the progress of the student and an individualized, gradual increase of the task from a limited history and physical examination to a complete, usable patient journal. Each student was given a personal tutor, who spent at least I hour daily wi th the student and a patient. Both students and tutors show great sati sfaction with the new course. The students feel adequately prepared fo r further patient work after the course and the results of examination s, in the form of a skills test, compare favorably with those of previ ous courses.