Exploring the Benefits of Early Clinical Exposure in Undergraduate Medical Students

Objectives: Early clinical exposure (ECE) is a learning strategy that encourages exposure of medical students to the clinical environment as early as the 1 st year of medical college. The National Medical Commission mandates the practice of ECE in the competency-based medical education curriculum introduced in India. This study aims to observe the perception of students exposed to ECE in a hospital and classroom setting. Material and Methods: A teaching module consisting of a lesson plan, specific learning objectives, students’ and facilitators’ guides and feedback questionnaires for students was developed and validated. Phase-I undergraduate students and faculty from the departments of neurology and physiology involved in the teaching process were given orientation. Students were exposed to ECE in the hospital (discussion and demonstration of clinical features on the patient) and classroom (discussion using case scenarios) settings. Open- and closed-ended feedback questionnaires were administered to learn about their perceptions in both settings. Results: A total of 232 students participated in the study. 95% of students felt that ECE encouraged self-directed learning, analytical reasoning and critical reflection. About 98% believed that this module helped them to apply basic sciences knowledge in health and disease, and also reinforced their basic sciences concepts related to that topic. Conducting pre–post studies in the context of ECE would further strengthen the findings of this study. Conclusion: ECE in hospital and classroom settings facilitated better understanding of course content; developed problem-solving and communication skills among the students.