A Simulated Night on Call Experience for Graduating Medical Students

Abstract

Introduction A number of medical schools have developed capstone courses to help prepare medical students for their transition to residency training. As part of our capstone program, we developed a Night on Call experience for graduating medical students to simulate the experience of an intern physician responding to medical emergencies in the hospital setting. Methods Our 2-hour program incorporates high-fidelity simulation in a four-station format (four clinical cases) with semistructured debriefing at the conclusion of the experience. Results The program has been well received. The majority of students report that the exercise achieves its learning objectives and has been a valuable experience. In addition, the students note that our cases offer a realistic experience. Discussion A program such as this allows the faculty an opportunity to observe and provide formative feedback to the students regarding their clinical performance when caring for patients in a simulated inpatient setting.