ABSTRACT

There are 74 medical faculties in Turkey and nearly 8000 students enter the public and private medical schools each year. Medical school education lasts six years in Turkey. Fifth and sixth years are exclusively reserved for practical education. This is a descriptive study. The participants of this study were the junior and senior medical students. Questionnaires were prepared by the investigators. Local ethical committee approved the study protocol. Questionnaires were filled in by the participants. Sixty six out of 104 (63.5%) junior and 68 out of 97 (70.1%) senior medical students completed the questionnaire and were included in the study. We surveyed 104 junior and 97 senior medical students. Patient preparation and follow-up were the most common practical applications performed by the students. On the other hand eye irrigation, ear irrigation and treatment of ingrown toenails were the least commonly performed applications. Anesthesiology and reanimation was the internship during which the junior students had the opportunity to make maximum practice whereas anesthesiology and reanimation, internal medicine and general surgery were the internship during which the senior students had the opportunity to make maximum practice. Junior and senior medical students believe that they have not enough practical experience, however they can compensate these deficiencies during the rest of their ongoing education.