Transfer of Knowledge and Skills to Clinical Practice: Design and Initial Implementation of a Transition Program

Background: This study aimed to describe the rationale and process of development, implementation and evaluation of a compulsory pass-or-fail transition program designed to facilitate the start-up of preclinical students (third year) to fourth year hospital based clerkships. Methods: Using Kern’s 6-step curriculum developement model, we developed an innovative curriculum for 4th year medical students designed to ease the transition to clinical clerkship. Results: The TCC (Transition to Clinical Clerkship) program is composed of hospital orientation and observation of roles and responsibilities of healthcare professionals in the hospital, routine investigation skills, procedural skills, rational prescribing, diagnostic reasoning, introduction to basic imaging. Educational strategies: building on preclinical knowledge and skills based clinical simulation and shadowing of nurses and physicians in the hospital environment were used. The Transition to Clinical Clerkship (TCC) program had its first run in the clinical simulation center and the teaching hospitals during the whole month of September 2020 with 84 students and 90 multidisciplinary faculty participating. Evaluation and feedback from students and faculty were positive for all learning outcomes. Conclusion: This paper describes the development and integration of a new transition program from preclinical teaching to clinical clerkship. Although, implemented during the pandemic period, the program ran smoothly and received positive feedback from students, faculty and coordinators.