Perception of first year ayurved students towards early clinical exposure

Background: At our institution, clinical teaching starts during third year of study without any exposure to learning of basic sciences in first two years, resulting into difficulty in their transition from preclinical to clinical phase.
Objectives: The study of introducing early clinical exposure (ECE) in Ayurved education was undertaken with the objective of enhancing the theoretical teaching in Rachana sharir (Anatomy) with applied aspect, evaluating the perceptions of students about ECE and assessing the acceptability & feasibility of implementation.
Methodology: The faculty & students of I BAMS were sensitized about ECE. Two modules Aans sandhi (shoulder joint) and Janu sandhi (knee joint) under the theme Sandhi sharir
(Arthrology) were selected for the study. Participants were divided into two groups. For module 1 group A served as an intervention group wheras group B was control group. The groups were crossed over for module 2. The Control group was taught through traditional didactic lecture whereas intervention group was exposed to ECE in the form of short didactic lecture followed by case based lecture and concluded by the hospital visit.
Results: Knowledge gain was determined using pre- posttest & perceptions were assessed through feedback and focus group discussion. The post test score of the intervention group was significantly high as compared to the control group in both the modules. Class average normalized gain for both the modules was more than 0.69 (69%). which showed that intervention of ECE was highly effective. Feedback analysis suggested that ECE was interesting, motivating, knowledge enhancing & correlating the theory to the applied aspect. It helped in enhancing sensitivity towards the patient, and increased communication skill.
Conclusion: We conclude that ECE in Rachana sharir was highly effective and well perceived by the students and can be implemented in Ayurved education.