AlphaMED Resources · https://alphamedicine.uk/Resources/glossary/clinical-audit
Clinical audit
A clinical audit compares the care a service gives with an agreed standard and makes changes where it falls short.
Summary
- The steps form a cycle. Choose a standard, measure current practice, compare, change, then measure again.
- Measuring again is called closing the loop.
- Research asks what the best practice should be. Audit asks whether the best practice is being followed.
- Taking part in audit is expected of every doctor.
Interview questions
- What is the difference between audit and research?
- Why is it important to measure again after making a change?
- Have you ever checked your own work against a standard and changed how you did it?
Practise answering these with a mentor
Our interview preparation has you answer questions like these out loud, with feedback on each answer.
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More NHS hot topics, medical ethics case studies and medical school interview questions are in AlphaMED Resources, which we add to and update through the application cycle.