POSTER

Teaching and Measuring Professionalism Using the Clinical Skills Examination: Impact of Feedback

Authors: Heidi Lane, EdD, Pamela Larsen, DrPH, DNSc, FNP, Patrick Merricks, MBA, MJ Barchman, MD, and Kathleen V. Previll, MD
The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Abstract

Introduction: Professional behavior comes closest to defining the art of medicine. M3 clerks in the Pediatric and Medicine Clerkships have participated in two different types of feedback interventions focused on professional behavior over the past four years. The Pediatric Clerkship used a self-analysis model: Students reviewed a completed clinical skills exam (CSE) videotape using a guided form which allowed self analysis of professionalism and communication skills. The Medicine Clerkship used a focus-group feedback model: At mid clerkship, the entire cohort with faculty input reviewed snippets of a “practice” CSE case and the CSE professionalism instrument. These sessions focused on self-analysis, peer review, feedback scores from standardized patients, and faculty feedback.

Methods: Individual Professionalism Scores (IPS) were extracted from CSE data. IPS data were grouped into two categories: no intervention versus interventions by either the self analysis or the focus-group feedback model. Of the 317 IPS extracted, 40 experienced only the Pediatric intervention and 138 experienced only the Medicine intervention. Analysis of variance was calculated.

Results: The focus-group model significantly improved (p value 0.042) the clerk's IPS. The self-analysis model used in Pediatrics however did not improve the clerk's IPS (p value 0.031)

Conclusions: Because of the significant IPS improvement using the focus-group feedback model, the Pediatric and Surgery Clerkships have implemented this model in 2004 and 2005. All six Clerkships will be implementing focus-group feedback to improve professionalism by the end of 2006.