Evaluation of Student Expectations and Clinical Competence Skills Performance during Surgery Clerkship Programme: A Comprehensive Study

The existence of a good clerkship system and quality lecturers will undoubtedly enhance the medical students’ knowledge and skills that align with their competencies. This study aimed to evaluate the achievement of surgical competence based on the expectations of students following clinical clerkships in a surgical department. This study included medical students who participated in a clinical clerkship in the surgical department using a mixed method with a sequential explanatory design as a quantitative approach. Pre- and post-tests were also used to assess changes in student knowledge, qualitative results were obtained from focus group discussions (FGD), and standardised questionnaires were used to assess student skills expectations and achievements. The results showed a significant increase in students’ knowledge after participating in a clinical clerkship, with a mean difference of 3.94 [standard deviation (SD) = 10.67]. However, only three of the skills met students’ expectations during clinical clerkship. This was attributed to a lack of opportunities to practice the skills that students had acquired, the presence of too many students, limited time, and a shortage of practical placements in regional hospitals. Most students perceived the majority of lecturers as nurturing and proficient. However, some lecturers are often occupied with their commitment, resulting in infrequent student interactions. The clinical clerkship system for the Department of Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University effectively enhanced student knowledge, but it needs to be improved to meet their skill expectations.