Initial pelvic examination instruction: the effectiveness of three contemporary approaches.

Initial pelvic examination skills were taught to 38 second-year medical students who were assigned to one of three study groups. The cognitive posttest scores of all groups were nearly identical, but the students who had received training from professional simulated patients rated significantly better in psychomotor and interpersonal skills than did those who received simulated outpatient instruction by a gynecologist. Thirty-five per cent of the psychomotor and interpersonal ratings attained by the latter and 5 per cent of those attained by the former were marginal or inadequate. It was concluded that a program involving professional simulated patients is an effective method of teaching pelvic examination skills to beginning students.