[Evaluation of competencies for tracheal intubation among medical students]

Chilean medical schools curricula are focused on the acquisition of competencies. Tracheal intubation is considered a terminal competence.

To evaluate the competencies related to airway management including tracheal intubation in undergraduate medical students.

Prospective observational study. Thirty medical students in the sixth year of a seven years undergraduate program (25.2% of the cohort) were randomly chosen and invited to participate in a simulated environment of elective tracheal intubation using a manikin. The students were assessed according to a checklist validated with the Delphi technique and a written self-assessment questionnaire.

Seventeen students (57%) accepted to participate, corresponding to 14.3% of the cohort. Tracheal intubation was achieved by 64%, with 60 seconds as the mean time of apnea. Less than half of the students checked the instruments, performed pre-oxygenation or evaluated the airway. Eighty-seven percent of the students said that the current curriculum offers them minimal competencies for airway management in a real clinical situation and all prefer simulated scenarios for the acquisition of clinical skills.

The methodology currently used to teach tracheal intubation is not assuring the acquisition of the competencies to the students in this curriculum stage. More effective teaching methods are required, and the use of simulated scenarios can be a useful tool.