CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Avicenna J Med 2021; 11(02): 77-83
DOI: 10.4103/ajm.ajm_202_20
Original Article

Internship Orientation: An Essential Facilitatory Bridging Step for Medical Students

Rajesh Kathrotia
Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Farhanul Huda
Department of General Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Shalinee Rao
Department of Pathology & Advanced Center of Continuous Professional Development, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Anupama Bahadur
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Ravi Kant
Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Manisha Naithani
Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
› Author Affiliations

Subject Editor: Financial support and sponsorship Nil.

Abstract

Background: Internship is a facilitatory period that hones skills and helps in the evolution of a qualified medical student to a competent doctor. The feeling of a final year student joining as a fresh intern after successfully completing the final professional examination will be directionless without a bridging initiative through a buffer program. Fresh interns need to be oriented to the fundamentals of working effectively with a patient as a whole and not as a separate discipline. This study was done to evaluate the effectiveness of the internship orientation program and to assess the feedback of participants about this program. Methodology: This was a study conducted on 235 freshly joined medical interns. The process included evaluation of a well-structured seven-day orientation program by prevalidated structured Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and feedback. Results: All interns performed satisfactorily in the post-test with a mean score of 74.13 ± 7.18. Post-test scores were highest for procedure skills and communication skills, including medical ethics. Overall, 232 (99%) of interns responded that the program was useful and it successfully enhanced their clinical skills; 221 (94%) of interns expressed that the content of the program was excellent to good; and 228 (97%) of interns felt that the method used for training was appropriate. Interns also documented that there were a few new skills that were acquired by attending this program. Conclusion: There is an unmet need for an internship orientation program across all medical colleges to lay a strong foundation for naive interns. Based on the results, we recommend an internship orientation program for a smooth and swift transition from that of a medical student to professional life. It will orient the interns and lay the foundation for the next level of assignment in building their professional career.

Key Messages: Internship orientation programs are recommended for a smooth and swift transition from that of a medical student to professional life.



Publication History

Article published online:
06 August 2021

© 2021. Syrian American Medical Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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