An extended assistantship for final-year students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Training
• Graduate Medical Education

Background:

• Many medical students report feeling unprepared for clinical practice post-graduation.
• Existing evidence suggests brief shadowing enhances student confidence and patient safety.
• Limited research exists on the impact of extended clinical shadowing periods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a 10-week student assistantship (SA) on final-year medical students' self-assessed confidence.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a prolonged SA in preparing students for junior doctor roles.

Main Methods:

• A 10-week SA was implemented for final-year medical students at the University of Bristol.
• Online questionnaires assessed student confidence in various domains pre-SA, post-SA, and post-qualification.
• Descriptive statistical analysis was used to compare confidence levels.

Main Results:

• Self-assessed confidence significantly improved across all assessed domains after the SA.
• Particular improvements were noted in prescribing, managing unwell patients, and end-of-life care.
• Confidence gains were sustained even after students qualified as foundation doctors.

Conclusions:

• A prolonged student assistantship effectively enhances medical students' knowledge and skills.
• The SA model can address confidence deficits in new medical graduates.
• Further large-scale studies are recommended to validate these findings.