Abstract
BackgroundFeedback on videotaped consultations is a useful way to enhance consultation skills among medical students. The method is becoming increasingly common, but is still not widely implemented in medical education. One obstacle might be that many students seem to consider this educational approach a stressful experience and are reluctant to participate. In order to improve the process and make it more acceptable to the participants, we wanted to identify possible problems experienced by students when making and receiving feedback on their video taped consultations.MethodsNineteen of 75 students at the University of Bergen, Norway, participating in a consultation course in their final term of medical school underwent focus group interviews immediately following a video-based feedback session. The material was audio-taped, transcribed, and analysed by phenomenological qualitative analysis.ResultsThe study uncovered that some students experienced emotional distress before the start of the course. They were apprehensive and lacking in confidence, expressing fear about exposing lack of skills and competence in front of each other. The video evaluation session and feedback process were evaluated positively however, and they found that their worries had been exaggerated. The video evaluation process also seemed to help strengthen the students' self esteem and self-confidence, and they welcomed this.ConclusionOur study provides insight regarding the vulnerability of students receiving feedback from videotaped consultations and their need for reassurance and support in the process, and demonstrates the importance of carefully considering the design and execution of such educational programs.
Highlights
Feedback on videotaped consultations is a useful way to enhance consultation skills among medical students
There is increasing evidence to suggest that this educational input results in an overall improvement in the communication skills of medical students and doctors, especially where the training includes some form of feedback on the trainees' performance [1,2]
Concerns A major theme in the students' evaluation dealt with their apprehension and anxiety prior to the video taped consultations and feedback group discussion. Their concerns evolved around both procedural elements and the feedback process itself
Summary
Feedback on videotaped consultations is a useful way to enhance consultation skills among medical students. Feedback on videotape or after direct observation has been shown to enhance development of both general communication skills and more specific consultation techniques [3,4] This kind of feedback has been demonstrated to have a more lasting impact on the students' communications skills than conventional education such as lectures or textbooks only, and it has been recommended that all medical students should be provided feedback training [5]. A common experience among medical teachers is that students or doctors participating in video-based training programs seem to be very apprehensive beforehand and consider this educational approach to be stressful [7]. This may represent an obstacle to implementation. The few studies assessing this mode of communication teaching have made use mainly of questionnaires or other quantitative research methods to collect information [6,7]
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