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Audit on Clinical Competency of Fresh Medical Graduates in a Malaysian Private University Using Kirkpatrick Level-1 Evaluation Model

Clinical competency is the core of the medical curriculum. Careful ongoing evaluation of clinical competency is required to ensure continuous reviewing for curriculum development. The objective of this study was to investigate self-perceptions of clinical competency of fresh medical graduates using the Kirkpatrick framework – the most convenient and widely used model for measuring clinical competency. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 50 fresh medical graduates of Widad University College, Malaysia in 2019 using a standardised questionnaire containing 43-items of competency. Respondents were asked to rate self-perceptions of his/her competency in these attributes using a five-point Likert scale against each attribute, where 5 = always competent and 1 = never competent. The response rate was 92%. Out of 43 items, graduates were always competent in taking clinical history and examining a patient thoroughly; frequently competent in eight attributes; sometimes competent in 29; and occasionally competent in four. The graduates have not yet started their houseman-training; and thus, got fewer chances to practice all the procedures. It is expected that graduates’ competency will improve during their houseman training. There is scope for improvement, as faculty need to pay more attention to improving student competency by arranging additional training. The teaching of clinical competency also needs integration with the pre-clinical phase for early exposure. The findings have direct implications for faculty development towards competency-based education that would bridge the gap between education and practice. This study offers other medical schools a window towards comprehensive use of competency tools to assess the competency of their graduates.