Recognising skills attrition and supporting medical students returning to the Birmingham Medical Degree programme; the ROCS (Revision of Clinical Skills) course

Skills attrition : There is clear evidence that time spent out of practice impacts on the clinical abilities and confidence of doctors returning to clinical work. Less is known about the rate at which this skills and knowledge attrition occurs. Studies suggest that it is apparent between 3 and 18 months after discontinuing practice, with more rapid decline in earlier phases. We believe that this evidence is translatable to medical students taking time out of the medical degree (MBChB) programme.

Format We invite all students returning to the final and penultimate year of our MBChB to participate in the ROCS course. Students undertake an intensive, hands on, one-day programme in*:

•common clinical examination skills

Students returning to the MBChB programme will have competencies assessed formally within the course and subsequently via the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA).

Students returning after time away from the clinical environment can feel apprehensive about re-engaging with patients and in particular about performing clinical skills.

The ROCS course provides an immersive and authentic opportunity to undertake a wide range of clinical skills in a supportive environment. It also provides the opportunity to signpost ‘struggling’ students to the relevant support within their placements.

The course offers the scope to collaborate with senior students who may be a valuable addition to the faculty. We suggest that an additional opportunity exists for regional collaboration in order to provide this course at one site, for students from a number of medical schools.

•a high-fidelity simulation scenario with debriefing

•clinical communication scenarios

•Basic Life Support refresher

•a range of practical procedures