Clinical Competence of Family Medicine Residents with Patients Attending Prenatal Care in a Medical Unit in Southern Mexico

The development of competency-based thinking is transforming medical education by preparing professionals for the new challenges of the 21st century. Its strategies are key to the development of clinical competence and to improving critical thinking. Objective: This paper aims to evaluate the level of clinical competence of family medicine residents treating patients attending prenatal care in a medical unit in southern Mexico. Materials and Methods: In 2023, a cross-sectional, retrospective, and analytical study with an educational focus was conducted in two phases. The creation and validation of a clinical competence instrument based on five real real-world problem-based clinical cases of prenatal care patients, with indicators related to clinical aptitude. Three rounds of experts were used to validate the instrument following the Delphi method, with a concordance threshold of 80% or higher (Kappa index > 0.80). The Kuder-Richardson formula was used to calculate internal consistency, yielding a value of 0.87. The evaluation instrument was administered to 40 newly admitted medical residents in the second phase in Villahermosa, Tabasco. A descriptive analysis was performed, and the levels of competence were compared using the Chi-square test. Results: Internal consistency was 0.87. Among the residents, 32.5% demonstrated low knowledge levels (know-what), 37.5% showed intermediate skills levels (know-how), and 67.5% exhibited adequate performance in attitudes (know-be). Conclusions: Inclusive strategies are necessary to improve clinical competence levels in prenatal care.