title: Face-to-face clinical skills feedback: lessons from the analysis of standardized patient's work.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current evidence suggests that trainees are evaluated less stringently when feedback is given face-to-face, limiting its value.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We expected that standardized patients (SPs) would also be more lenient in scoring when they gave immediate feedback to the students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 6 clinical skills assessments of students in Years 1 to 4 of medical school were used. Comparisons in scoring were made for the cases on which students received feedback and those where they did not. Analysis was done using a hierarchical linear regression model to test for significant differences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicated no significant difference in scoring for the history and physical exam checklists. There was a small but significant difference on the measure of interpersonal and interviewing skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SPs were trained to avoid stringency, leniency, and restricted range in scoring students. These training methods may be useful for training faculty to give face-to-face feedback.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, USA. Pfeiffer@nsol.uchc.edu
authors.forename: Carol A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.forename: Lynn Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Kosowicz
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Holmboe
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D016544:Patient Simulation; D013337:Students, Medical