Communication skills instruction: an analysis of self, peer-group, student instructors and faculty assessment.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the correlation of student and faculty assessments of, second-year dental students' (D2s) communicative skills during simulated patient interviews.


METHODS
Eighty-two D2s, 14 student instructors and 8 faculty used a 5-point scale, (1=poor-5=excellent) to assess 12 specific communicative skills of D2s generating assessment sources of self, peer-group, student instructor, and faculty. Mean scores and comparisons between assessment sources were calculated. Spearman correlations evaluated relationships between specific skills and assessment sources.


RESULTS
Mean assessment score and standard error for peer-group (4.14 ± 0.04), was higher than self (3.86 ± 0.06, p<0.05) yet slightly higher than student instructor (4.07 ± 0.04) and faculty (3.93±0.10). Regarding assessment sources, the degree of correlation from highest to lowest was peer-group and student instructor (ρ=0.46, p<0.0001), self and student instructor (ρ=0.35, p<0.002), self and peer-group (ρ=0.28, p<0.02). The correlations between student instructor and faculty, faculty and self, and faculty and peer-group were nonsignificant.


CONCLUSIONS
Student assessments were different from faculty by mean score and correlation index. Future studies are needed to determine the nature of the differences found between student and faculty assessments.


CONCLUSIONS
Peer, student instructor and faculty assessments of dental students' communicative skills are not necessarily interchangeable but may offer uniquely different and valuable feedback to students.
Lanning
Sharon K
SK
Department of Periodontics, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Dentistry, USA. sklanning@vcu.edu
Brickhouse
Tegwyn H
TH
Gunsolley
John C
JC
Ranson
Sonya L
SL
Willett
Rita M
RM
D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D003812:Dentist-Patient Relations; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000379:methods; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D005179:Faculty, Dental / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D010379:Peer Group; D012647:Self-Assessment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013335:Students, Dental / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013663:Teaching; D014481:United States