Does medical students’ clinical performance affect their actual performance during medical internship?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION This study examines the relationship between the clinical performance of medical students and their performance as doctors during their internships. METHODS This retrospective study involved 63 applicants of a residency programme conducted at Chonnam National University Hospital, South Korea, in November 2012. We compared the performance of the applicants during their internship with their clinical performance during their fourth year of medical school. The performance of the applicants as interns was periodically evaluated by the faculty of each department, while their clinical performance as fourth-year medical students was assessed using the Clinical Performance Examination (CPX) and the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). RESULTS The performance of the applicants as interns was positively correlated with their clinical performance as fourth-year medical students, as measured by the CPX and OSCE. The performance of the applicants as interns was moderately correlated with the patient-physician interaction items addressing communication and interpersonal skills in the CPX. CONCLUSION The clinical performance of medical students during their fourth year in medical school was related to their performance as medical interns. Medical students should be trained to develop good clinical skills through actual encounters with patients or simulated encounters using manikins, to enable them to become more competent doctors.