The physical examination of patients with abdominal pain: the long-term effect of adding standardized patients and small-group feedback to a lecture presentation.

BACKGROUND

One of the most effective methods for teaching physical diagnosis may be standardized patient instructors.

PURPOSE

To determine if a lecture plus standardized patient instructors with small-group sessions is more effective than a lecture alone for teaching the evaluation of patients with abdominal pain.

METHODS

Control (class of 2001) and intervention (class of 2002) groups both attended a lecture on the abdominal examination. The intervention group then underwent an exercise with standardized patient instructors and a review session with surgical faculty. An evaluation 18 months later used standardized patient instructors to complete evaluations assessing history-taking and physical examination skills.

RESULTS

The intervention group performed significantly better than the control group on both the history and the physical examination subscales.

CONCLUSION

It is possible to have an important, measurable, and lasting effect on physical examination skills by adding standardized patient instructors and small-group discussion to a lecture presentation.