Preparedness for Internship: A Survey of New Interns at a Tertiary Care Hospital, Telangana

An internship orientation program is conducted in most of themedical colleges before the beginning of internship programto facilitate the transition between medical student and intern.The present study was initiated to assess the preparedness ofinterns for the internship program and identifying the areasthat require additional training and education.MATERIALS AND METHODSA cross sectional study was carried out among 2014 batchinterns of Malla Reddy Medical College for Women, Suraram,Hyderabad. Hard copies of the study questionnaire preparedand validated by expert panel was administered to the internsbefore and after the two-day internship orientation program.The outcomes were measured on 5-point quantitative scale.The raw scores obtained by each student were converted topercentages.The scores less than or equal to 49% wereconsidered low, the scores between 50% to 70% wereconsidered as average and scores above 71% were consideredhigh with respect to level of preparedness for internship. Twoopen ended questions were asked – additional topics to beincluded in the program and other suggestions.RESULTSA total of 110 students completed the study. Only 2% of theinterns were highly prepared for hospital practice before theorientation program while this number increased to 78% afterthe program. Interns expressed their desire to learn new topicslike basic first aid to minor injuries, management of traumacases and Road Traffic Accidents and handling of medicalemergencies during the orientation program. They alsosuggested that there should more focus on practicaldemonstrations and hands on training in skill lab during thisprogram.CONCLUSIONhere is significant improvement in the preparedness of internsafter the orientation program indicated the program helpedto boost the confidence of the interns for hospital practice.