Despite the advent of technology in medicine, a physician's greatest strength remains their ability to form a first opinion of a patient based on their initial consultation. This usually involves understanding a patient's history and conducting a thorough physical examination.
The Crash Course in Clinical Skills, held on September 25th in the MediSkillsLab, was created for this purpose. Hosted by the Bridge the Gap, a student initiative founded by 6th-year student, Tolu Oladele, this program was designed as a hands-on workshop to help students bridge the gap between their theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
With the support of the University leadership, and guidance of dr. Katalin Eklicsne Lepenye (Dept. of Language for Biomedical Purposes), dr. Gergo Molnar (2nd Dept. of Internal Medicine) and Prof. dr. Zoltan Pfund (Dept. of Neurology), English program students in the 5th and 6th years were given the opportunity to revisit their internal medicine and neurological physical examination skills. They challenged their medical interviewing and diagnostic skills through case simulations with English-speaking actors.
Participants rotated through a variety of neurological, cardiological and common illness cases. Students expressed gratitude at the opportunity to practice their clinical reasoning and test the limits of their bedside competencies. For many students, it was a much needed chance to refresh their hands-on skills after the recent period of online learning.
The workshop was largely successful due to the joint effort and cooperation of student demonstrators and instructors. Through this experience, it is our hope that students can enter into further clinical studies feeling better prepared for their new roles as physicians. Due to the significant interest and positive feedback, a similar opportunity may be offered to students in the spring semester.
