THE STRUCTURED CLINICAL INSTRUCTION MODULE - A NOVEL STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING THE INSTRUCTION OF CLINICAL SKILLS

We have previously shown that both medical students and residents demo nstrate numerous important deficits when evaluating patients with abdo minal complaints. To address these deficits, we implemented a pilot in structional program derived from the Objective Structured Clinical Exa mination. Fifty third-year medical students were presented with a 1-hr Structured Clinical Instruction Module (SCIM) of five stations, each station addressing a different aspect of the surgical evaluation of th e abdomen. Simulated patients were present at two of the stations, Fac ulty from appropriate disciplines were present at the stations to prov ide standardized instruction according to predetermined curricular obj ectives. The medical students evaluated the SCIM for its specific char acteristics, and they evaluated each of the five stations for its effi cacy in increasing their clinical skills. All the specific aspects of the SCIM were given a rating significantly higher than neutral (P < 0. 0001). Students agreed most strongly that the faculty were well prepar ed for the SCIM and that the faculty were enthusiastic. All of the SCI M stations were given a rating significantly higher than average (P < 0.0001), When compared to a conventional workshop, the SCIM scored sig nificantly higher on all three common evaluation items. The SCIM was v ery well received by medical students as a format for clinical instruc tion, This unique modification of the Objective Structured Clinical Ex amination has potential for teaching important clinical skills that ar e not consistently mastered within current surgical curricula. (C) 199 5 Academic Press, Inc.