Ten simple rules for preparing medical students for safe, high-quality hospital-based clinical practice

Abstract

Undergraduate medical education often focuses on diagnosing and treating disease, while competencies related to patient safety, quality of care, clinical audit, and continuous improvement receive less attention during hospital practice. Clinical rotations provide a valuable setting to integrate these competencies into real care situations without creating additional courses. This article proposes ten simple rules to guide clinical teachers and tutors in the practical teaching of safety and quality during hospital rotations. The rules are organized as a cyclical clinical flow that includes pre-care preparation, patient-centered care, post-care analysis, and feedback for improvement. This proposal seeks to contribute to the training of physicians able to recognize risks, communicate decisions, document safely, and participate in quality improvement activities from the early stages of their education.