Clinical Audits in Medical Education: Barriers and Opportunities Among Jordanian Medical Students

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2025.3042

Keywords:

Clinical Audit, Education Medical, Medical Student, Quality improvement, Evidence-Based Practice

Abstract

Background: Clinical audits are crucial for enhancing healthcare quality, but various obstacles can restrict their implementation. This study aims to examine barriers to the implementation of clinical audits among medical students and interns.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey involving 727 clinical-year medical students (4th–6th year) and interns in Jordan from six Jordanian universities between August and November 2023. Participants completed a self-administered online questionnaire covering demographics, knowledge of clinical audits, perspectives on clinical audits, and barriers to conducting them.

Results: Of the 727 participants (58.2% male; 35.5% in their 6th year), only 7.3% had engaged in clinical audits, despite 69.5% identifying personal development and 64.8% recognizing healthcare improvement as motivations. Key barriers included time constraints (78%), academic pressure (79%), and a lack of institutional support (80%), while 59.2% felt their curriculum left them underprepared. Awareness of audit objectives was limited, with 48.4% disagreeing that they understood audit objectives. Fear of criticism was commonly reported, with 70.7% agreeing or strongly agreeing that this discouraged their participation. Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for university, academic year, GPA, and gender showed that prior research involvement strongly predicted audit knowledge (1–2 projects: aOR = 6.30; 3–4 projects: aOR = 4.92; p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Students expressed positive attitudes toward clinical audits but showed limited knowledge and very low participation. These findings highlight the need for structured, hands-on audit training within undergraduate medical curricula and improved institutional support to facilitate student engagement in quality improvement activities.

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This image illustrates the Audit Cycle through a five-step circular flow designed for continuous quality improvement. The process begins with Choosing an Audit Topic and Setting Guidelines, followed by Data Collection to measure current performance; it then moves to Analyzing and Implementing Changes to bridge any gaps, and finally concludes with Monitoring and Re-auditing to ensure that improvements are sustained, restarting the cycle for ongoing excellence.

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Published

2025-12-15 — Updated on 2025-12-19

How to Cite

Deameh, M. G., Mansour, O. S., Abu Rahma, H., Bani Irshid, B. A., Da'meh, M. W., Amaireh, E. A., … Funjan, K. (2025). Clinical Audits in Medical Education: Barriers and Opportunities Among Jordanian Medical Students. International Journal of Medical Students, 13(4), 369–375. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2025.3042

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 4 (2025)

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Original Article

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Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammad Ghassab Deameh, Omar S Mansour, Hammam Abu Rahmeh, Baha’ Aldeen Bani Irshid, Mohammad Walid Da'meh, Enas A. Amaireh, Yazeed Badran, Jebreen A. Elaydi, Hasan M. Abu Obaideh, Suhaib Feras Fawarseh, Khaled Funjan

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