Are interpersonal skills ratings influenced by gender in a clinical skills assessment using standardized patients?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore possible performance differences in interpersonal skills (IPS) ratings as a function of candidate and standardized patient (SP) gender. The IPS scores and SP characteristics for 79,999 patient encounters were studied. This included 18,325 (20.36%) female candidate to female SP, 26,872 (29.86%) male candidate to female SP, 18,281 (20.31%) female candidate to male SP, and 16,521 (29.47%) male candidate to male SP interactions. The analysis did not reveal a significant candidate gender by SP gender effect. There were no meaningful differences in IPS scores as a function of SP or candidate gender. The non-significant interaction between SP gender and candidate gender provides some evidence that male and female candidates are being assessed equivalently by male and female SPs. This result, combined with the extremely weak relationship between gender (candidate or SP) and IPS ratings, provides additional support for the fairness and defensibility of the IPS measures.