Assessment of Saudi MEDs framework competence in performing clinical and practical skills by final-year medical students

Abstract

Clinical examinations and practical clinical skills are essential to guide diagnosis and treatment. Competency-based medical education (CBME) is high on today’s medical education agenda, and competence has become the unit of medical education planning in many countries. With the rise of medical education in Saudi Arabia, The Saudi MEDs initiative began as a means of achieving national consensus and developing necessary learning outcomes for medical schools. The aim of this study is to evaluate the final-year medical students’ core clinical competencies and identify the gaps between clinical skills in the Saudi MEDs framework and students’ actual achievement. Online data collection from all fifth-year medical students, to assess their clinical and procedural skills by using Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) scores and using a self-administered questionnaire that has been developed based on the Saudi MEDs framework. Eight clinical competencies were chosen out of the 17 after consulting the experts in this field. OSCE scores were checked for correlation with their self-assessment scores. The total OSCE scores of 323 students were evaluated which showed 93% of students have passed all eight competencies. Also, 304 students responded to the self-administered questionnaire in the current Saudi MEDs competencies 323 (response rate=94.11). The students were confident in the majority of the eight clinical competencies of the Saudi MEDs framework. Saudi MEDs framework has ensured that Saudi medical or health care education adapted to changing demands, critical competencies are not overlooked, teaching and learning, and evaluation are appropriate at medical schools by implementing the competency framework.