SummaryAn assessment of the educational value of a series of courses intended to improve the clinical awareness of non‐medical graduate microbiologists has been made. Objective and subjective data were collected by means of questionnaires, pre‐ and post‐course multiple choice tests and informal discussion. The format of the courses are described. The increase in cognitive knowledge acquired during three of the courses is comparable with results from another study in clinical students. The anomalous results from one of the four courses may be explained in terms of the composition of that course. The data presented contribute to the information required for the evaluation and assessment of educational co