A faculty-wide "Night of Skills" to (not only) train medical skills: comprehensive evaluation study

This study evaluates the educational and social impact of a faculty-wide "Night of Skills" event for health professions students. The event combined short, hands-on medical skills workshops with opportunities for informal exchange and networking across disciplines.

The event ran on a Friday from 5 pm to 3 am, with 35 workshops across medical disciplines with 332 workshop timeslots (30 min each). The social program included information and networking booths, as well as food, drinks and a closing event. Feedback was collected with semi-structured oral interviews and a survey, collecting participant demographics and feedback using Likert-scaled questions and open questions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative responses underwent thematic analysis based on Mayring's inductive category formation.

A total of 396 students participated, mostly from human medicine (91.2%, N = 361). We recorded 1524 workshop bookings. Most participants attended an average of five workshops and expressed a desire for additional sessions. The timeslots were seen as too short, but most participants (83.6%, N = 143) rated their learning outcome as "high" or "very high." Participants reported increased self-efficacy and preparedness for clinical clerkships. Networking opportunities and confidence building were highlighted in qualitative feedback. Of 189 respondents, 96.3% (N = 182) rated the event "very good" or "good", with 98.4% (N = 186) wanting it to be repeated.

The "Night of Skills" demonstrated high perceived educational and social value among participants. It offers a prototype for supplementing medical curricula with practice-oriented, community-building experiences that can be adapted by other institutions. Future studies incorporating objective skill assessments are needed to confirm the educational benefits suggested by these self-reported outcomes.

Not applicable.