Preoperative assessment clinic: a missed learning opportunity?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Clinical Skills Development

Background:

• Modern surgical pathways like day-case surgery reduce hospital stays.
• This trend limits medical students' exposure to clinical signs in traditional surgical settings.
• A need exists to identify alternative clinical learning environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate preoperative assessment clinics as a viable teaching arena.
• To determine if these clinics provide adequate exposure to clinical signs for medical students.

Main Methods:

• Junior doctors used questionnaires to document patient complaints and clinical signs.
• Patient suitability for student observation was assessed.
• Clinical findings were mapped against the Oxford University medical curriculum.

Main Results:

• 96% of patients agreed to be observed by medical students.
• 89% of patients had presenting complaints aligned with the core curriculum.
• 76% of patients demonstrated objective clinical signs on examination.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative assessment clinics offer significant opportunities for medical students.
• Students can gain experience with core curriculum presenting complaints and objective clinical signs.
• These clinics address a critical gap in surgical clinical education.