Improving Child Neurology Residents' Communication Skills Through Objective Structured Clinical Exams

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Dara V. F. Albert¹  Margie Ream¹  Todd Lash²  Pedro Weisleder³  Nicole Verbeck⁴ 

[1] Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child Neurology, Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine;Education Resource Specialist, Clinical Skills Education and Assessment Center, The Ohio State University College of Medicine;Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child Neurology, Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine;Research Specialist, Office of Curriculum and Scholarship, The Ohio State University College of Medicine;

关键词: Child Neurology;    OSCE;    Objective Structured Clinical Examination;    Clinical Skills Assessment/OSCEs;    Communication Skills;    Neurology Education;   

DOI  :  10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11120

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Introduction Child neurology has unique challenges in communication due to complex disorders with a wide array of prognoses and treatments. Effective communication is teachable through deliberate practice and coaching. Objective structured clinical exams (OSCEs) are one method of providing practice while assessing communication skills. Yet OSCEs have not been reported for child neurology residents. Methods We developed simulated clinical cases centering on communication skills for child neurology residents, all with challenging clinical scenarios (e.g., disclosure of a medical error, psychogenic nonepileptic events). Standardized patients (SPs) portrayed the parents of pediatric patients and, in some scenarios, an adolescent patient. We used a modified Gap-Kalamazoo Communication Skills Assessment Form to assess communication skills. The assessment was completed by faculty, SPs, and the resident, and we measured agreement among raters. Residents were surveyed afterward regarding their experience. Results Nine cases were developed and piloted. A total of 27 unique resident-case encounters with 16 individual trainees occurred over three annual implementations. Scores on the 360-degree assessment of communication skills showed that residents overwhelmingly underassessed their skills compared to other rater groups. Among 18 responses on the post-OSCE survey, the majority (77%) found the experience useful to their education and felt that the feedback from the SPs was helpful (61%) and the case portrayals were realistic (89%). Discussion We implemented simulated cases for assessment and formative feedback on communication skills for child neurology residents. We provide a blueprint to develop this educational activity in other programs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown