Comparison between residents with a 6-year medical program and a 7-year medical program in terms of objective structured clinical examination performance in postgraduate year training in Taiwan: a 2-group pre- and post-test non-synchronized study

PURPOSE: In 2013, medical schools in Taiwan implemented a 6-year medical program that replaced the previous 7-year medical education program. The postgraduate year (PGY) program was also extended from 1 year to 2 years. The new program is characterized by diversified teaching, integration of medical skills, a system-oriented curriculum, and the implementation of primary care and clinical thinking training. The purpose of this study was to examine whether postgraduate residents who learned under the new program have better patient care skills than those who learned under the previous program. METHODS: Of 101 residents in the PGY program at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 78 were trained in the 6-year program, while 23 were trained in the 7-year program. During the PGY training, 2 objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) were used to evaluate clinical reasoning, communication skills, and procedural skills at the beginning of the training and after 11 months of training, respectively. The scores of each OSCE and the rate of improvement of the pre- and post-tests were analyzed. RESULTS: Residents trained in the new program scored higher on clinical reasoning (P<0.001) and the total scores of the 3 tested skills (P=0.019) on the pre-test. In terms of improvement, residents educated in the previous system improved more in clinical reasoning than those educated in the new education system. CONCLUSION: The new medical education program, which emphasizes clinical thinking, improved residents’ clinical skills. The PGY program was effective in improving the clinical performance of residents who were educated in the previous system.