INTRODUCTION
The objectives of the workshop were:
The Department of Primary Care Medicine UiTM has established their Master of Medicine (Family Medicine) postgraduate course since 2011 as a member of the Specialty Committee of Family Medicine Malaysia. These trainees go through a 4-year program and sit for three professional examinations in stages which include Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) dan Long Objective Structured Clinical Examination (LOSCE). This year (2023), the Department has organized a “Virtual Communication Skills OSCE Workshop” catering for postgraduate Family Medicine trainees all around Malaysia focusing on communication skills with patients, which is an essential clinical skill to master as a Family Medicine Specialist.
OBJECTIVESThe objectives of the workshop were:
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To provide exposure to the trainees on the OSCE examination format
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To allow the trainees to recognize skills that need to be improved before sitting for their examination
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To provide a platform for trainees to discuss and obtain feedback from experienced examiners and family medicine specialists
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To generate income for the Department
THE WORKSHOP
The workshop was held on the 23rd of September 2023 through the online platform Zoom.
OUTCOME OF THE WORKSHOP
A total of 50 participants from all around Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak had participated in this workshop. Majority were postgraduate trainees from universities of the Specialty Committee of Family Medicine Malaysia, and there were also trainees from parallel postgraduate pathways such as the Malaysia-Ireland Training Programme for Family Medicine (MInTFM) and the Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP). Majority of the participants gave positive feedback and requested for more similar workshops to be conducted by the Department at a regular basis. Based on the written feedback form from all of the participants, 100% of them answered “very informative/informative” and “very useful/useful” for the lecture and all OSCE stations feedback sessions, as well as for the overall running of the course. Due to the success of this workshop, the Department shall plan to organize more workshops in the near future.
