Abstract :
Introduction: Early clinical exposure as a part of vertical integration is an intervention that bridges the gap between the basic and clinical sciences. It can be achieved by exposing undergraduate medical students to clinical cases at an early stage. This study was conducted with an aim to introduce first professional MBBS students to clinical cases in Orthopaedics as a part of an early clinical exposure module in Anatomy and to
analyse its impact and feasibility.
Methodology: A prospective, cross over, intervention was conducted to introduce 139 first year MBBS students to patients in Orthopaedics OPD. Feedback and perceptions regarding the module were obtained both from the students and the participating faculty. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data was conducted.
Result: Students perceived the early clinical exposure module very well. They agreed that it had helped them in understanding the applied anatomy of the topics and found it to be interesting and motivating. students were motivated for self-directed learning and an overwhelming majority of respondents agreed that more topics should be covered in similar modules.
Conclusion: Early exposure to clinical aspects of basic sciences provides a structured setting for clinical correlation of knowledge and learning the importance of communication skills. This is an innovative interactive teaching strategy which is feasible to conduct and improves learning outcomes.
Keyword :
Curriculum, Learning, Professionalism, Students.