Comparison between medical students' experience, confidence and competence.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anesthesiology Simulation
• Performance Assessment

Background:

• Medical trainees' clinical experience and self-confidence are often assumed to correlate with performance.
• Standardized simulator assessments are increasingly used to evaluate clinical competency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if breadth of clinical experience and student confidence predict performance on standardized anesthesia simulator assessments.
• To determine the relationship between self-reported experience, confidence, and objective performance metrics.

Main Methods:

• 144 students completed a questionnaire on clinical experiences and confidence levels (Likert scale).
• Students participated in standardized anesthesia simulation scenarios.
• Spearman rank correlations analyzed data; P-value <0.05 was significant.

Main Results:

• A strong correlation was found between clinical experience and confidence levels.
• No significant correlation was observed between clinical experience, confidence, and simulator performance.
• Confidence levels did not correlate with clinical rotation performance or final examination scores.

Conclusions:

• Clinical experience and self-reported confidence are not reliable predictors of performance in standardized anesthesia simulation.
• Current self-assessment metrics may not accurately reflect a student's ability in simulated clinical scenarios.