Improved Patient Notes from Medical Students during Web-Based Teaching Using Faculty-Calibrated Peer Review and Self-Assessment

Background: This study examines the effectiveness of Calibrated Peer Review (TM) (CPR), a Web-based writing development program, to teach and assess medical students\u27 patient note-writing skills in a standardized fashion. Method: At the end of the clerkship year, 67 medical students were divided inot three groups, introduced to CPR, and instructed in patient note-writing. Students then wrote notes for three clinical cases, presented in different order to each group. After training on faculty-calibrated standards, students evaluated their peers; notes and tehir own notes. Trained faculty, blinded to author, order, and group, also graded student notes. Results: Faculty gave lower scores than students, but both groups found students\u27 scores improved significantly from the first to the third note writteb, Conclusions: Student-written pateint notes improved in quality while using CPR. The program uses approaches valued in medicine (accurate peer review and self-reflection) to enhance performanc

Assessing Medical Students\u27 Competence in Obtaining Informed Consent

BACKGROUND: Medical schools increasingly place emphasis on preparing students to perform routine, ethically important clinical activities with sensitivity and acumen. A method for evaluating students skills in obtaining informed consent that was created at our institution is described. METHODS: Formal assessment of medical students\u27 professional attitudes, values, and ethics skills occurs in the context of three required and developmentally attuned comprehensive examinations. A videotaped station tested senior medical students\u27 ability to obtain informed consent from a standardized patient who expresses concern about undergoing cardiac catheterization. Two checklists were completed by the patient. Videotapes were reviewed by a faculty member, and students\u27 reactions to the assessment experience were documented. RESULTS: Seventy-one senior students participated, and all performed well. Mean scores of 6.3 out of 7 (range 5 to 7, SD 5 0.5) on the informed consent checklist and 8.7 out of 9 (range 6 to 9, SD 5 0.5) on the communication skills checklist were obtained. Students endorsed the importance of the skills tested. CONCLUSIONS: This method of examining medical students\u27 abilities to obtain informed consent has several positive features and holds promise as an ethics competence assessment tool. Am J Surg. 1999;178:351—355. \xa9 1999 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.\u2

Using Calibrated Peer Review⢠to Assess and Improve the Quality of Student Documentation of Clinical Encounters at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine (UNMSOM).

The UNMSOM adapted Calibrated Peer Review™, an internet based writing tool, to assist medical students in assessing the structure and content of their clinical notes. Students watch videotaped clinical encounters and write notes based on these patient visits. Students then apply faculty-established standards to assess three calibration notes, the notes of three peers, and their own note. CRR will be demonstrated and student satisfaction described