Perceptions of medical graduates and their workplace supervisors towards a medical school clinical audit program.

Objectives: This study explores how medical graduates and their workplace supervisors perceive the value of a structured clinical audit program (CAP) undertaken during medical school.

Methods: Medical students at the University of Notre Dame Fremantle complete a structured clinical audit program in their final year of medical school.  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 Notre Dame graduates (who had all completed the CAP), and seven workplace supervisors (quality and safety staff and clinical supervisors).  Purposeful sampling was used to recruit participants and data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Both graduates and workplace supervisors perceived the CAP to be valuable. A major theme was that the CAP made a contribution to individual graduate's medical practice, including improved knowledge in some areas of patient care as well as awareness of healthcare systems issues and preparedness to undertake scientifically rigorous quality improvement activities. Graduates perceived that as a result of the CAP, they were confident in undertaking a clinical audit after graduation.  Workplace supervisors perceived the value of the CAP beyond an educational experience and felt that the audits undertaken by students improved quality and safety of patient care.

Conclusions: It is vital that health professionals, including medical graduates, be able to carry out quality and safety activities in the workplace. This study provides evidence that completing a structured clinical audit during medical school prepares graduates to undertake quality and safety activities upon workplace entry. Other health professional faculties may be interested in incorporating a similar program in their curricula.