Evaluating a weekly face-to-face informal discussion forum for final year medical students

Realising possible unmet needs of final yearmedical students we initiated a weekly informal face-tofacediscussion forum between them and the teachingfaculty of the department of medicine. Various academicand non-academic topics, as dictated by the students,were discussed in 19 weekly sessions. Evaluation by thestudents was subsequently done by means of an on-linequestionnaire after the final examinations. The aim ofthis study was to evaluate this forum, undertaken for thefirst time in our institution, by assessing student feedback.We conclude that although the number of attendees andresponders were small, feedback was generally positive.This type of forum can be improved upon and serve asanother portal for benefitting students.