Competence Among Fifth-Year Students Completing Surgery Rotation

Competence among Md5 students completing surgery rotation Author: Pius Kagoma MD Department of Surgery, MUHAS 2018 Introduction: Surgery rotation is the rotation in medicine that deals with physical manipulation of body structures to diagnose, prevent or cure an ailment. Competency in surgery will help junior doctors to perform surgical operations, remove part of the body which is superfluous, restore that which has been dislocated, separate that has been United, join that has been divided and repair the defects of nature. Aim: To assess the competence among fifth-year students completing surgery rotation at MUHAS Methodology: The study was done by evaluating 186 students who have already rotated in the department of surgery at MUHAS Dar es salaam Tanzania in a class of 2019. The competencies used are professional knowledge, clinical skills, patient, client, community relationship, professionalism, maintaining good practices, working within the system and context of health care, and teaching skills. We also assess their ability to perform minor procedures such as catheterization, venipuncture, cancelation, lumbar puncture, NGT insertion, suturing, and circumcision in seven MUHAS competency Domains for MD curricular. Results. One fifty-nine student 159 (85.5%) has no idea about the seven competencies, five 5 (2.7%) mentioned professional knowledge, three 3 (1.6%) mentioned clinical skills and patient, client community relationship, sixteen 16(8.6%) students mentioned professionalism. None of the students mentioned the remaining competency such as maintaining a good practice, working within the system and context of the health care and teaching skills. Conclusion. The study has revealed a low level of knowledge on the seven MUHAS competency domains, high-level knowledge on catheterization, venipuncture, and cannulation. Most of the students showed a low level of knowledge on lumber puncture NGT insertion, suturing, and circumcision. It is high time for the effective implementation of the competency early after joining the medical school and pursuing their senior rotations to equip them to serve the Tanzanians in the health industry.