Types of Clinical Skills Courses and Workshops for Junior Doctors

While the days of “see one, do one, teach one” are far from over, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find time to learn new clinical skills on-the-job, and even harder to find a senior with the time to teach you.

One solution is to book a clinical skills course or workshop, giving you an opportunity to take your study leave, spend your study budget, and get hold of some bleep-free time dedicated solely to learning.

Here are some types of clinical skills courses and workshops you can find as a junior doctor:

ECG Training Courses

ECG is a quick and accurate method of diagnosing many cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. This first-line investigation can help diagnose or exclude many life-threatening medical emergencies like STEMIs, arrhythmias, electrolyte abnormalities, and pulmonary embolisms. Hence, all doctors must have a basic understanding of ECG interpretation. ECG training courses for junior doctors will be useful for anyone who wants to brush up on ECG, especially junior doctors.

ECG courses will aid you to get a basic idea on,

• How to take a standard 12 lead ECG
• Role of ECG in chronic and acute coronary syndromes
• Role of ECG in detecting tachy/ bradyarrhythmias
• Role of ECG in detecting electrolyte abnormalities
• Basics of Ambulatory ECG and Stress ECG
• ECG artefacts

X-Ray Interpretation Courses

X-ray interpretation can be difficult, especially for medical students and recently qualified junior doctors, and you may wonder how your seniors pick up clues to the diagnosis with just one glance. You may have also realised that it is something you cannot survive without in clinical practice, especially in the fields of emergency medicine, medicine, and orthopaedics. This is a good chance for junior doctors, especially those involved in the above fields to improve their abilities.

Depending on the subject area, an x-ray course can teach you about:

• Basic terminology in plain radiography
• Chest x-ray interpretation
• Abdominal x-ray interpretation
• Use of x-rays in orthopaedics
• X-rays in the emergency department
• Limitations of plain radiography and what to do next

Emergency Radiology Courses

Imaging, in the forms of focused ultrasound, plain radiographs, and CT scans, has replaced conventional invasive diagnostic methods in the management of acute and emergency conditions.

With these non-invasive methods, doctors are able to swiftly and effectively diagnose and treat potentially life-threatening conditions. This course is suitable for anyone dealing with trauma patients, working in the emergency department, orthopaedics, or anaesthetics/intensive care.

The course content may include the following:

• Imaging as an adjunct to the primary survey
• Use of x-rays in emergencies
• FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma) scans
• Assessing head and spinal cord injuries
• Radiological assessment of a multi-trauma patient
• Non-traumatic emergency assessment

Pulmonary Function Test & Spirometry Courses

Pulmonary function tests may be considered cumbersome by some, but they are invaluable in the diagnosis of obstructive airway diseases such as asthma and COPD. This course is more useful for respiratory medicine trainees and respiratory ANPs, as it is rarely performed by non-respiratory specialists. Lung volume curves and PFTs are also one of the favourite questions in MRCP examinations, and hence, candidates may benefit from this course.

You will get comprehensive knowledge of pulmonary function tests through this course that will cover the following areas:

• Lung volumes and physiology of respiration
• Spirometry
• Lung diffusion capacity testing
• Interpretation of pulmonary function test reports
• Diagnosis of Asthma and COPD

Human Factors Courses

We always talk about the human touch when it comes to medicine. But, just as the human touch can enhance recovery, there is also the possibility of human error. Errors more frequently occur in emergency situations and when a team effort is needed due to a lack of preparedness, lack of coordination, and lack of leadership qualities.

Although complete prevention of human errors is not plausible, we can certainly aim to keep them at a minimum by looking into what goes wrong and making amends. These courses is recommended for doctors, ANPs and PAs of any grade as regardless of seniority, we are still human.

This course concentrates on many important aspects of the human factor in medicine such as,

• Types of errors in clinical practice
• Human factors and their role in medical errors
• Minimising human errors
• Preparedness: the key to success
• Leadership and teamwork

You may also get the chance to participate in simulated scenarios where the human factor has a major say in the outcome.