Clinical Skills I

Syllabus
MD231290E Clinical Skills I

Single-Cycle Degree Program
The University of Georgia 2026 წ.
Given Credits: 4 ECTS

Curator : Rachvelishvili Nino
E-mail: nino.rachvelishvili@ug.edu.ge

Admission criteria to the course

MD231110E Human Body - Structure and Function I - Prerequisite

Description

The course combines communication and clinical skills, which is compulsory for modern physicians' professional activity. During the course, students will be introduced to the knowledge and practices aimed at developing the competencies necessary for proper professional activity. Will recognize that effective communication is a cornerstone of a fruitful patient–physician relationship which contributes to a positive therapeutic effect and better patient outcomes and satisfactions, well as proficient communication with colleagues will help them with professional satisfaction, accomplishment, and confidence.

During clinical component of the course students will gain knowledge of many practical skills such as first aid, blood pressure measurement, trauma care, which can be used in everyday life and will help develop a positive attitude towards the future profession. The course will also introduce students to some aspects of future medical disciplines, in particular, help them to better understand the methods of diagnosis and treatment.

Goals

The course goal is to prepare students to clinical practice, to equip first year medical students with knowledge and skills on First Aid approaches and to acquire basic knowledge on communication and experience patient-doctor encounter with standardized patient

Result

Outcomes

Knowledge and understanding
After the course completion, students:

Define communication, basic aspects and models

Discuss differences between verbal and nonverbal communication

Define essential communication skills

Discuss behavior change models and basics of patient counselling

Define vital signs, the related terminology, differentiate between their normal and abnormal findings

Explain the purpose, mechanism and uses of electrocardiography

Explain the purpose, mechanism and uses blood glucose monitoring

Explain the principles of first aid

Skills
After the course completion, students:

Establish rapport with patient

Give and gather information in clinical context.

Demonstrate effective communication with patients and colleagues

Make oral and written clinical case presentations for professional communication

Demonstrate the measurement of vital signs and their interpretation

Perform electrocardiography

Measure blood glucose level

Provide first aid

Responsibility and autonomy
After the course completion, students:

plan own education process, to use different informational resources (electronic and printed sources) in learning.

demonstrate respect patients' right and professional ethics.

demonstrate the motivation to continue improving their knowledge and skills.

Length

Lecture :	Week: 1 Hours: 1
Practical work :	Week: 1 Hours: 2

Student Workload

Sum:100 Hours

Contact hours

Attendance on Lectures 14

Practical training 30

Exams 2

Presentation 2

Independent hours

Independent studies 52

Teaching and Learning Methods

Interactive lectures, seminars
Theoretical Teaching - Interactive Seminars and Lectures
Practical Work
Teaching by using the simulators
Seminars
Playing patient/doctor roles
Teaching through standardized patients

Bibliography

Main bibliography

Oxford handbook of clinical examination and practical skills:2nd ed.	Thomas, J. and Monaghan, T.	2014
Communication skills for medicine:3rd ed.	Lloyd, Margaret; Bor, Robert	2009

Additional bibliography

Bates`s guide to physical examination and history taking:11th ed.	Bickley, Lynn
Clinical skills: the essence of caring	Iggilden, Halen and other	2009
APA Style Introduction

1 Week

Lecture

Theme

Lecture: Introduction to communication. Communication as a basis of medical consultation. Purposes of communication. Communication models. Elements of communication.

Seminar / Practical Work: Brainstorming: What is communication? Purposes of communication. Group discussion: Importance of communication.

Reading materials:

Communication skills for Medicine. Margaret Lloyd and Robert pp2- Bor 949 pp

Skills for Communicating with Patients. J. Silverman, S. Kurtz and J. Draper. 2013, pp.6-22

2 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Basics aspects of communication. Communication models. Types of communication - verbal and non-verbal communication.

Seminar/Practical Work:

Verbal communication and non-verbal communication: demonstration, samples, role play.

Reading materials:

Skills for Communicating with Patients. J. Silverman, S. Kurtz and J. Draper. 2013, pp.61-71

Communication skills for Medicine. Margaret Lloyd and Robert Bor pp 49-77

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

3 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Clinical communication. Consultation and counseling. Essential communication skills in clinical practice. Calgary-Cambridge guide for the medical interview-communication process.

Seminar/Practical Work: Practice in good communication skills, assessment communication skills in counseling.

Reading Materials:

Skills for Communicating with Patients. J. Silverman, S. Kurtz and J. Draper. 2013, pp.228-233

Walter F. Baile, M.D. Professor of Behavioral Science and Psychiatry; The Complete Guide to Communication Skills in Clinical Practice©, 2014: https://www.mdanderson.org/documents/education-training/icare/pocketguide-texttabscombined-oct2014final.pdf

Teaching and learning communication skills in medicine. Kurtz SM, Silverman JD. 1998. Radcliffe medical press (Oxford). Calgary-Cambridge guide for the medical interview-communication process.

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

4 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Models of communication - transactional and Herron’s analyses. Doctor-centered and Patient-centered model. Doctor–Patient relationship.

Seminar/Practical Work: Practice in models of communication. Therapeutic communication.

Reading Materials:

Skills for Communicating with Patients. J. Silverman, S. Kurtz and J. Draper. 2013, pp.50-57

Communication skills for Medicine Margaret Lloyd and Robert Bor 89110

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

5 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Clinical communication 2 major approaches. Information gathering and Information giving - purposes, types, and major characteristics.

Seminar/Practical Work: Behavior change models, complex consulting. Practice in information giving and gathering.

Reading materials:

Skills for Communicating with Patients. J. Silverman, S. Kurtz and J. Draper. 2013, pp.72-90

Communication skills for Medicine Margaret Lloyd and Robert Bor 89138

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

6 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Challenges in clinical communication – communication with different types of patients.

Seminar/Practical Work: Communication with different types of patients, their family members and skills of sharing bad news, communication in critical situations.

Reading materials:

Skills for Communicating with Patients. J. Silverman, S. Kurtz and J. Draper. 2013, pp.224-233

Communication skills for Medicine Margaret Lloyd and Robert Bor 147-170

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

7 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Communication for personal and professional development, and communication with patients and colleagues.

Seminar/Practical Work: How we communicate, student-mentor relationship, reflection on practice, group work, communication with colleagues.

Reading materials:

Skills for Communicating with Patients. J. Silverman, S. Kurtz and J. Draper. 2013, pp.119-146

Communication skills for Medicine Margaret Lloyd and Robert Bor 170187

8 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Clinical skills. General principles of medical care. Clinical procedures. Infection prevention and control. Hand hygiene and personal protective equipment.

Seminar/ Practical work: Washing hands and using personal protective equipment procedures.

Reading materials:

Oxford Handbook of Clinical Examination and Practical skills, 2nd ed.. T.James, T.Monaghan. 2014

Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care. G.R Doyle, J.A McCutcheon. 2015 Chapter 1

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

9 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Patient assessment: initial, focused and emergency assessment. Assessment of vital signs: pulse, respiration, body temperature, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, capillary fertile time.

Seminar/ Practical work: Procedures for assessment of vital signs. Basic essential equipment for routine diagnostic techniques.Case study: Pain assessment.

Reading materials:

Procedural skills - medical students’ survival skills. P. Jevon, R. Joshi. John Wiley, 2020. p. 7-15

Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care. G.R Doyle, J.A McCutcheon. 2015

Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care. G.R Doyle, J.A McCutcheon. 2015 Chapter 2.

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

10 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Electrocardiography. 3-lead ECG monitoring. Blood pressure monitoring.

Seminar/ Practical work: Recording 3-lead ECG. Procedure for manual measurement of blood pressure

Reading materials:

Procedural skills -medical students survival skills –. P. Jevon, R. Joshi. John Wiley, 2020. p. 7-12

Oxford Handbook of Clinical Examination and Practical skills, 2nd ed.. T.James, T.Monaghan. 2014

Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care. G.R Doyle, J.A McCutcheon. 2015 Chapter 8 .

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

11 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Respiratory therapeutic procedures. Oxygen therapy. Types of oxygen therapy. Oxygen therapy devices. Inhaler technique. Inhalation drug therapy.

Seminar/ Practical work: Administering oxygen using different technics of administering. Instructing patients in the use of the devices with inhaled medication

Reading materials:

Procedural skills -medical students’ survival skills –. P. Jevon, R. Joshi. John Wiley, 2020. p. 69-73

Oxford Handbook of Clinical Examination and Practical skills, 2nd ed.. T.James, T.Monaghan. 2014

Clinical Procedures for Safer Patient Care. G.R Doyle, J.A McCutcheon. 2015 Chapter 5.

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

12 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Diagnostic procedures. Types of diagnostic procedures. Measuring capillary blood glucose (CBG). Taking a nose, throat and skin swab for laboratory tests.

Seminar/ Practical work: Procedures of measuring capillary blood sugar (CBG) ;Taking swabs for lab tests.

Reading materials:

Procedural skills -medical student’s survival skills –. P. Jevon, R. Joshi. John Wiley, 2020. p. 33-35 (CBG); p 57-61 (swab)

Clinical procedures for safer patient care. Chapter 9.

Oxford Handbook of Clinical Examination and Practical skills, 2nd ed.. T.James, T.Monaghan. 2014

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

13 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: First aid. Principles of first aid. Vital signs assessment. Basics of CPR.

Seminar/ Practical work: First aid general algorithm. First aid in various situations. Major steps.

Reading materials:

Procedural skills -medical students’ survival skills –. P. Jevon, R. Joshi. John Wiley, 2020. p. 50- 55-

Clinical procedures for safer patient care. Chapter 12.

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

14 Week

Lecture and Seminars

Theme

Lecture: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Purpose and technics. Bag - mask ventilation.

Seminar/ Practical work: Bag - mask ventilation technique.

Reading materials:

Procedural skills -medical students’ survival skills –. P. Jevon, R. Joshi. John Wiley, 2020. p. 50- 55,

Clinical procedures for safer patient care. Chapter 12.

Type of Assessment: Written exam - 2; Oral exam - 2;

15 Week

Presentation

Annex 3. Written Clinical Case Presentation

Criteria	Unsatisfactory	Marginal	Satisfactory	Very good	Exceptional
	0 point	0.25 points	0.5 point	0.75 point	1 point
History	Key elements of the case aremissing or inaccurate. Notimeline.	Some elements of the case aremissing or inaccurate. A clear timeline is not established in the HPI.	All elements of the case are included. A clear timeline is established in the HPI.	All elements of the case, including a clear timeline, are included with the appropriate level of detail including a likely diagnosis.	All elements of the case are included with the appropriate level of detail including a well-constructed differential diagnosis.
Physical Examination	A physical exam is not included or is very incomplete.	The physical exam is incomplete,for example, does not includegeneral appearance or vital signs.	The physical exam is accurate andcomplete.	The physical exam is accurate, complete, and well organized	The physical exam is accurate, complete, and well-organized.Areas related to historyare appropriately emphasized.
Assessment and Plan	No summary and discussion.	The formulation statement is verydisorganized and does notinclude key information	Formulation statement is logically organized and includes most key information.	The formulation statement is wellorganized and includes allkey information. Includes a differential diagnosis	The formulation statement is verywell organized, effectively intertwining all key information. Includes a differential diagnosis supported by data in H & P
Supporting Evidence and Citations	Relies on insufficient, irrelevant, or unreliable information; Confuses information and inferences drawn from that information; No citations or references	Gathers a small amount of credible information; Confuses information and inferences drawn from that information; A minimal number of references or a large number of APA style reference errors.	Gathers some credible information, but not enough; some information may be irrelevant; Omits significant information, Sometimes, confuses information and the inferences drawn from it; Establishes relevant position; APA style is used to cite or reference the material with 4-5 errors.	Gathers sufficient, credible, and relevant information; Distinguishes between information and inferences drawn from it; Supports position with applicable knowledge; APA style is used to cite or reference the material with 1-3 errors.	Gathers sufficient, credible, relevant information: observations; Distinguishes between information and inferences drawn from that information; APA style is used to cite or reference the material with 0 errors.
Quality of Writing	Contains multiple mechanical errors; the tone is informal and/or inappropriate.	Writing is sloppy; hard to follow; poor use of grammar and/or spelling.	Contains several proofing errors.	Contains minor errors that don't obscure meaning.	Clear and articulate; uses correct grammar and punctuation
Logic and Organization	The paper is very disorganized. Information does not follow a sequence.	The paper is not well organized. Information does not follow a logical sequence.	The paper is organized.Information follows a logical sequence.	The paper is well organized. Information follows a logical sequence and transitions between sections are noted.	The paper is very wellorganized. Information follows a logical sequence and transitions between sections are noted but appear smooth and natural.

16 Week

Free Week

16,17,18 Week

Final Exam

Exam topic

Exam Type - Written exam, OSCE

Criteria		Point sum
Tests		5

•	Answer is correct	100%
•	Answer is incorrect	0%
True/False		3

•	Answer is correct	100%
•	Answer is incorrect	0%
Open Questions		2

•	Answer is exact and precise, terminology is used appropriately	100%
•	Answer is correct, but not exhaustive, terminology is described precisely	75%
•	Answer is not exhaustive, terminology precision is violated	50%
•	Answer is fragmented	25%
•	Answer is incorrect	0%
Case review and solve		10

•	Case is solved correctly and in details	100%
•	Case is partially solved, no essential mistakes	75%
•	Case is partially solved, minor mistakes and errors observed	50%
•	Case is partially solved, essential mistakes done	25%
•	Case is not solved/is solved incorrectly	0%
Practical Exercises		20

•		0%

19,20 Week

Recovery

OSCE - 20 point

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) (20 points) includes Communication, History Taking and Physical Examination, Clinical-reasoning, and Practical Skills/Procedures written in the syllabus.

The practical tasks performed at each station are evaluated with 4 points - maximum points, and the minimum at each station – 2 points, for a total of 10 points.

1 Station:	4 point (10 min)
1 Station:	4 point (10 min)
1 Station:	4 point (10 min)
1 Station:	4 point (10 min)
1 Station:	4 point (10 min)

Assessment Criteria for OSCE

• Student accomplishes all objectives perfectly, demonstrates behavior according to professional standards, while performing tasks and/or procedures demonstrates needed practical skills. – 4 (100%)

• Student accomplishes all objectives, and demonstrates behavior according to professional standards while performing tasks and/or procedures demonstrates needed practical skills with nonsignificant deviations. – 3 (75%)

• Student fairly accomplishes objectives, demonstrates behavior according to professional standards, while performing tasks and/or procedures demonstrates needed practical skills with some errors. – 2 (50%)

• Student makes mistakes in accomplishing objectives, and can hardly perform tasks and/or procedures independently. – 1 (25%)

• Student is not able to complete objectives, is not able to perform tasks and/or procedures. – 0 (0%)

Station examples and detailed checklists are available at:

Medical Student Survival Skills: Procedural Skills, Philip J, Ruchi J. and others, 2020, Wiley Blackwell
Medical Student Survival Skills: History Taking and Communication Skills, Philip J, Steve Od and others 2020, Wiley Blackwell
Macleod’s Clinical OSCEs, Paul O’Neill, Alexandra E. and others, 2016, Elsevier
Macleod's Clinical Examination, 14th edition, J Alastair Innes, Anna R Dover, and others, 2018, Elsevier
acleod's Clinical Diagnose, Alan G Japp and Colin Robertson, 2013, Elsevier

Annex 1. Assessment of Midterm Exam

Written Exam	Max Point
Test
Answer is correct	100%
Answer is incorrect	0%
Open Questions	Max Point
Answer is exact and precise, and the terminology is used appropriately	100%
Answer is correct, but not exhaustive, terminology is described precisely	75%
Answer is not exhaustive, terminology precision is violated	50%
Answer is fragmented	25%
Answer is incorrect	0%
Case review and solve	Max point
Case is solved correctly and in detail	100%
Case is partially solved, no essential mistakes	75%
Case is partially solved, minor mistakes and errors observed	50%
Case is partially solved, essential mistakes done	25%
Case is not solved/is solved incorrectly	0%

Assessment of Practical Work

Student accomplishes all objectives perfectly, demonstrates behavior according to professional standards, while performing tasks and/or procedures demonstrates needed practical skills	100%
Student accomplishes all objectives and demonstrates behavior according to professional standards while performing tasks and/or procedures and demonstrates needed practical skills with nonsignificant deviations.	75%
Student fairly accomplishes objectives, demonstrates behavior according to professional standards, while performing tasks and/or procedures demonstrates needed practical skills with some errors.	50%
Student makes mistakes in accomplishing objectives and can hardly perform tasks and/or procedures independently.	25%
Student is not able to complete objectives and is not able to perform tasks and/or procedures.	0%

Evaluation system:

Presentation Written exam - 6 point (Min 1.5 point) Oral exam - 6 point (Min 1.5 point) Presentation - 40%, theme for presentation - 60% Note: It is mandatory to overcome the minimum in each component. Otherwise, the overall assessment presentation points will be abolished.	12 point 12%
Final Exam Written exam - 20 point (Min 10 point) OSCE - 20 point (Min 10 point) Presentation - 40%, theme for presentation - 60% Note: It is mandatory to overcome the minimum in each component. Otherwise, the overall assessment presentation points will be abolished.	40 point 40%
Lecture and Seminars	48 point 48%

Point	GPA	The university assessment	The general assessment in Georgia
97-100	4,00	A+	A	Excellent
94-96	3,75	A
91-93	3,50	A-
87-90	3,25	B+		Very good
84-86	3,00	B	B
81-83	2,75	B-
77-80	2,50	C+	C	good
74-76	2,25	C
71-73	2,00	C-
67-70	1,75	D+	D	Satisfactory
64-66	1,50	D
61-63	1,25	D-
51-60	1,00	E	E	Sufficient
Not passed
41-50		FX	FX	Insufficient
<40		F	F	Failed