Table 1 Summary of clinical skills teaching approaches before, during, and after the adaptations in 2020

Prior to the pandemic; the traditional approach to clinical skills teaching at SoMS

• Delivered face-to-face as a single, 4-h clinical tutorial each week• Small groups, consisting of 8–9 students, facilitated by a medical facilitator• Case-based simulation with the involvement of a VSP• Students learn history-taking, physical examination and procedural skills

Remote learning during lockdown

• Synchronised distanced teaching, with priority placed on learning history-taking and clinical reasoning skills (e.g., investigations planning and interpretation)

• Reduced focus on learning physical examination and procedural skills

• Shift from hands on practise of skills with involvement of VSP to observing clinical skills demonstration videos and theoretical discussions about clinical techniques

Return to face-to-face clinical skills teaching following remote learning

• Return to scheduled clinical skills tutorials on campus

• Intensive hands-on practise of physical examinations and procedural skills

• Additional, self-directed clinical skills practise on campus through book-in system