Self-Assessment of Medical Interns on Their Ability to Management of Inpatients in the Internal Department at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences

Knowledge of medical students is usually assessed by exams, but it is not related to their sense of readiness. Self-assessment is one of the methods for measuring medical professional readiness that has been less considered in medical education. This study aimed to determine the degree of acquisition of professional skills of medical interns in the management of inpatients through self-assessment in the internal ward.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 115 selected medical interns of Shahid Sadoughi Medical School in Yazd participated by census in 2017. Ability to manage internal diseases was assessed by self-reported. The internist experts confirmed questionnaire validity and reliability (Cronbachchr('39')s alpha: 0.76-0.93). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test by SPSS.

The highest expressed ability by interns was for management of gastrointestinal (63.9%), respiratory (62.3%), and cardiovascular disease (56.1%). They had the lowest ability for endocrine diseases (49.8%). The highest ability to manage gastrointestinal bleeding (65.8%), chest pain (64.3%), abdominal pain and reflux (62.5%), nausea/vomiting (61.6%), and diabetes (61.4%) was stated. 94.7% have sufficient skills to take a history and 85.6% follow medical ethics. The least expressed ability was in drug prescribing and patient decision-making.

In 23% of common diseases, 50% of interns can manage disorders independently, which indicates that interns do not consider themselves capable of managing them. The professors must consider Self-assessment and evaluation in prioritizing internship training topics, especially clinical skills.