Short communication: final year students' deficits in physical examination skills performance in Germany

Abstract

Background: The physical examination of patients is an important diagnostic competence, but little is known about the examination skills of final-year medical students.

Aims: To investigate physical examination skills of final-year medical students.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 40 final-year students were asked to perform a detailed physical examination on standardized patients. Their performances were video-recorded and rated by independent video assessors.

Results: Video ratings showed a mean success rate of 40.1 % (SD 8.2). As regards accompanying doctor-patient communication, final-year students achieved a mean of no more than 36.7 % (SD 8.9) in the appropriate use of the corresponding communication items.

Conclusions: Our study revealed severe deficits among final-year medical students in performing a detailed physical examination on a standardized patient. Thus, physical examination skills training should aim to improve these deficits while also paying attention to communicative aspects.

Keywords: Körperliche Untersuchung; Physical examination skills; Skills Lab Training; medizinische Ausbildung; procedural skills; prozedurale Fähigkeiten; skills lab training; undergraduate medical education.