COMPARISON OF SIMULATED PATIENT AND DIDACTIC METHODS OF TEACHING HIV RISK ASSESSMENT TO MEDICAL RESIDENTS

Objective: Physicians need to be well trained in HIV risk assessment i nter view skills. Little has been written in the literature concerning training methods for this specialized interview. Methods: One model t o teach the HIV risk assessment interview has been developed and has b een used to teach third-year medical students. We compared this intera ctive model, which uses simulated patients to teach HIV Risk Assessmen t, to a didactic one. Twelve medical residents were taken through eith er the interactive session or the didactic session. Pre-post changes f rom questionnaires were calculated to determine any differences in ses sions. Also, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) were u sed to grade all residents 2 weeks after their sessions. Results: All pre-post changes were calculated and no statistically significant diff erences were seen (P > 0.50). OSCE interpersonal skills scores and con tent scores were calculated. The interactive group had statistically s ignificantly higher scores (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The data supports t he conclusion that an interactive method is more effective to use to t rain HIV risk assessment interview skills to medical residents when co mpared to the didactic method.