Undergraduate medical education at a district general hospital: facilitating the transition from student to medical professional

Background: The transition from student to medical professional represents a major challenge for all medical students. Every intake of newly qualified doctors increases potential risks to patients. In the UK, this is often colloquially referred to as the ‘August Effect’. At one District General Hospital, a ‘Ward-Craft and Bleep Simulation Programme’ was implemented for final year medical students. This aimed to equip students with the procedural knowledge and soft skills to support the transition from undergraduate training to professional working life as a junior doctor. Methods: A series of six, weekly, two-hour workshops which focussed on common clinical problems encountered by newly qualified doctors was delivered to final year medical students (‘Ward-Craft Programme’). Students then participated in a two-hour high fidelity, in-situ, ‘Bleep Simulation Programme. The programme was facilitated by a Clinical Teaching Fellow and evaluated through an anonymous feedback survey Results: 98.9% of students (n=259) agreed, or strongly agreed, that the programme helped them feel more prepared and confident for life as a junior doctor. Participants provided overwhelmingly positive feedback, specifically noting that the programme addressed feelings of confusion, anxiety, and the feeling of being overwhelmed by the work of junior doctor. Conclusions: The Ward-Craft and Bleep Simulation Programme has been positively received by medical students from universities with very different types of learning styles and courses. The replication of similar programmes for final year medical students is a valuable training opportunity for final year medical students and may help mitigate the challenges posed by the ‘August effect’.