The Use of Station Time Allotments by Fourth Year Medical Students in a Standardized Patient-Based Clinical Skills Examination

Abstract

Introduction: We performed this study to assess medical student use of station time allotments in a standardized patient-based clinical skills assessment. Methods: Videotapes of student-SP encounters were reviewed. Total encounter time, and time spend in the physical examination, were recorded in seconds. The mean time use for each station was calculated. Cases were categorized by patient age, case content and acuity. Times were compared across cases. Results: On average, students spent most time in encounters requiring complex interviewing strategies or physical examination maneuvers. Students also spent more time on cases that involved content familiar to them from multiple clerkship disciplines. Discussion: Many factors are believed to influence the use of station time allotments in SP-based clinical skills assessment. Our findings have provided information helpful for case refinement, and may assist others when planning multi-station examinations.