Evaluation of the preclinical hospital visit programme with students’ feedback at the University of Nottingham, UK

Abstract

Background . The General Medical Council’s publication Tomorrow’s Doctors recommends that medical students should attain professional awareness at an early stage of their education. Accordingly, in the University of Nottingham, basic science teaching is integrated with clinical practice, by attaching medical students to hospital specialty teams and general practices in the community, as regular timetabled ‘hospital visits’ from the beginning of their medical education. We evaluated the feedback forms of the preclinical (1st and 2nd years) medical students retrospectively based on their experience of the hospital-based clinical teaching programme over 2 years. The hospital visit programme was modified based on the student feedback following which the effectiveness of the modified programme was revaluated post-test. Methods . This study was based on a quasi-experimental design in which comparisons of pre-test and post-test feedbacks with 337 feedback forms in each group were analysed in the study period. Quantitative response questions in the feedback were statistically analysed using independent t-test, and free text questions were qualitatively analysed and grouped into themes. Results . Data analyses showed significant difference (p<0.001) between the pre- and post-test groups. The main feedback themes identified were number of the patients examined, organization of the visit, patient selection, introductory talk, and briefing and debriefing before and after the visit. Conclusion . The structure of the hospital visit programme was influenced by the available infrastructure, flexibility of access and delivery of clinical teaching. The programme helped build professional attitudes in both staff and students and encouraged independent learning.