Does hearing the patient perspective improve consultation skills? An exploratory randomised controlled trial in medical undergraduate education

Journal article

Purpose

Medical education increasingly includes patient perspectives, but few studies look at the impact on students’ proficiency in standard examinations. We explored students’ exam performance after viewing video of patients’ experiences.

Methods

88 medical students were randomised to one of two e-learning modules. The experimental group saw video clips of patients describing their colposcopy, while the control group viewed a clinician describing the procedure. Students then completed a multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ) and were assessed by a blinded clinical examiner in an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) with a blinded simulated patient (SP). The SP scored students using the Doctors’ Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (DISQ). Students rated the module’s effect on their skills and confidence. Regression analyses were used to compare the effect of the two modules on these outcomes, adjusting for gender and graduate entry.

Results

The experimental group performed better in the OSCE than the control group (odds ratio 2.7 [95% C.I. 1.2 to 6.1]; p=0.016). They also reported significantly more confidence in key areas, including comfort with patients’ emotions (odds ratio 6.4 [95% C.I. 2.7 to 14.9]; p<0.0005). There were no other significant differences.

Conclusions

Teaching that included recorded elements of real patient experience significantly improved students’ examination performance and confidence.

Authors: Snow, R; Crocker, J; Talbot, K; Salisbury, H; Moore, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Journal: Medical Teacher
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 1229-1235
• Publication date: 2016-08-01
• Acceptance date: 2016-07-04
• DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2016.1210109
• EISSN: 1466-187X
• ISSN: 1466-187X and 0142-159X