Confidence grows when we can ask, "Am I doing this right?" | Considerations

On their concluding day with me, my clerkship student reflected on how they grew more confident by the end of the rotation. I think it was largely due to giving them space to practice their skills.

Medical students are a studious and keen bunch to begin with. Their enthusiasm withers, though, when senior colleagues glaze over their work and generate instantaneous impressions and management plans. And then they're told to do that again for the next patient, only guessing at what they got right. Doubt and hesitancy set in.

What I've found is that making time to observe my students in action gives them security knowing they can pause to check if they're doing things correctly. And after days and weeks of this process, it's gratifying to see them step into clinical encounters wanting to take on more responsibilities and attempting more layered management plans. Their little wings are beginning to soar!