An evaluation of medical students' practical experience upon qualification

The acquisition of many practical skills-including competence to take initial responsibility for managing serious or life-threatening situations-is rarely assessed in formal medical qualifying examinations in the UK. This paper reports an investigation of two groups of graduands' experiences of practical procedures and acute conditions. Similar patterns of experience were reported by students undertaking their clinical work in different medical schools, including the lack of opportunity to practise certain procedures. A large proportion felt incompetent to manage emergencies. The study demonstrates how a simple self-reporting technique can provide useful data and identify problems of continuity between two stages of medical education-the undergraduate period and the pre-registration year.