IMPACT OF A STANDARDIZED-PATIENT INTERVENTION TO TEACH BREAST AND ABDOMINAL EXAMINATION SKILLS TO 3RD YEAR MEDICAL-STUDENTS AT 2 INSTITUTIONS

BACKGROUND: This study examined whether a single intervention with sta ndardized patients (SPs) as a supplement to traditional teaching durin g the surgery clerkship would enhance the breast and abdominal examina tion skills of third-year medical students. METHODS: During the academ ic year 1994-1995, 153 students from two institutions were assigned to control or experimental groups. At institution A, all students underw ent pretests and posttests with SPs; at institution B, no pretest was conducted. All experimental students received group and one-to-one ins truction with SPs during the intervention session. RESULTS: At posttes t, the experimental group performed better than the control group on b reast examination (P = 0.002), professionalism during this examination (P <0.001), abdominal examination (P <0.001), and professionalism dur ing the latter examination (P = 0.050). The improvement from pretest t o posttest at institution A was significantly greater in the experimen tal group than the control group for the breast examination (P = 0.036 ) and the abdominal examination (P <0.001). Analyses on a variety of s pecific tasks within each examination were also performed. CONCLUSION: A Single intervention with SPs teaching breast and abdominal examinat ions resulted in significant enhancement of these clinical skills. (C) 1997 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.