Clinical skills I is a compulsory course in the sixth year of the study of Medicine in English. It includes 70 hours of practice (4 ECTS). 

The aim of the course: The aim is to familiarize students with the usual and generally accepted protocol of diagnostic and treatment approach to hospitalized patients with the intention to achieve high levels of clinical competencies, which are crucial for an independent and reliable clinical practice among students. Students will stay and participate in the work of clinical hospital centers that are teaching bases of the Faculty of Medicine Rijeka, as well as general and specialized hospitals that are not teaching bases of the Faculty of Medicine, with which the faculty will conclude a one-time agreement with the aim of supervising and training the students. The goal is to acquaint students with the work and organization of specific clinics, which includes the organization and implementation of hospital admission (patient examination, indications for hospitalization), daily work routine and organization of different departments (patients rounds, familiarization with routine work of doctors and nurses, pre- and postoperative patient management, indications for specific diagnostic procedures, defining medical treatment and assessing outcomes, managing medical documentation), and organization of work at outpatient clinics (first and control examinations). Students will actively and under supervision participate in the diagnostic workup and treatment management of patients.

Learning outcomes: Apply the acquired knowledge and skills in everyday clinical work. Core competencies: to present the acquired knowledge from the fields of biomedical, clinical, and social sciences, and to apply that knowledge on patient care, as well as demonstrate communication skills that enable the student to establish a professional relationship with the patient. Specific competencies: admission of patients to the hospital, medical history assessment, performing physical examination, evaluation of laboratory, imaging, and other diagnostic findings, independently and responsibly carrying out certain diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, assessing patients in emergency settings, assessing patients in the settings of hospital wards, outpatient clinics and intensive care units. 

Course structure: The course is organized through 70 hours of practice, which are distributed continuously through 2 weeks. The course is based on the students’ active participation in a mentored work at specific departments and clinics in the hospital.