Preparedness for Internship: A Survey of New Interns at a Tertiary Care Hospital, Telangana

Abstract

INTRODUCTION An internship orientation program is conducted in most of the medical colleges before the beginning of internship program to facilitate the transition between medical student and intern. The present study was initiated to assess the preparedness of interns for the internship program and identifying the areas that require additional training and education. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross sectional study was carried out among 2014 batch interns of Malla Reddy Medical College for Women, Suraram, Hyderabad. Hard copies of the study questionnaire prepared and validated by expert panel was administered to the interns before and after the two-day internship orientation program. The outcomes were measured on 5-point quantitative scale. The raw scores obtained by each student were converted to percentages.The scores less than or equal to 49% were considered low, the scores between 50% to 70% were considered as average and scores above 71% were considered high with respect to level of preparedness for internship. Two open ended questions were asked – additional topics to be included in the program and other suggestions. RESULTS A total of 110 students completed the study. Only 2% of the interns were highly prepared for hospital practice before the orientation program while this number increased to 78% after the program. Interns expressed their desire to learn new topics like basic first aid to minor injuries, management of trauma cases and Road Traffic Accidents and handling of medical emergencies during the orientation program. They also suggested that there should more focus on practical demonstrations and hands on training in skill lab during this program. CONCLUSION here is significant improvement in the preparedness of interns after the orientation program indicated the program helped to boost the confidence of the interns for hospital practice.