Abstract

Background: Direct observation (DO) is an important teaching and assessment method in medical education that enables the direct evaluation of clinical skills and the provision of timely, constructive feedback, thereby enhancing students’ clinical competence. Objectives: This study investigated the current implementation of DO in clinical teaching and assessed medical students’ satisfaction with this educational approach. Materials and methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 223 full-time and articulation-program medical students at Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy between May and October 2025. Results: Overall, 67.3% of the students had experienced DO, primarily during clinical rotations (85.0%). A total of 72.7% reported that their instructors completed all eight steps of the DO process. The three most frequently implemented steps were establishing observation objectives, preparing the clinical setting and patient, and directly observing students’ clinical performance (94.1% each). Overall, 69.0% of the students were satisfied or very satisfied with DO, while 68.5% wished to continue learning through this approach. The factors most frequently perceived to affect its effectiveness were session duration (78.6%), the number of students per session (76.5%), and students’ level of preparation (69.0%). Conclusions: Medical students demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with DO and perceived it as effective in improving their clinical skills. However, its implementation remains inconsistent. Standardizing the DO process and strengthening faculty training in feedback provision, documentation, and reassessment are necessary to improve the quality of clinical education.

Keywords: Clinical teaching practice, direct observation, medical students.