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Student attitudes and their academic performance: is there any relationship?
Merilyn J Liddell1, Sandra K Davidson
1Department of General Practice, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Medical Teacher
|January 28, 2004
Summary
Student attitudes toward consultation skills, not confidence, predict better performance. Valuing these skills, crucial for patient-centered care, drives medical student success in clinical assessments.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Clinical Skills Assessment
- Healthcare Communication
Background:
- Effective consultation skills are vital for holistic, patient-centered medical care.
- Medical education programs increasingly emphasize communication and clinical management.
- Assessing student proficiency in consultation skills requires understanding influencing factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between medical students' attitudes, confidence, and academic performance in consultation skills.
- To determine if pre-existing attitudes or post-attachment confidence better predict skill performance.
- To evaluate the utility of confidence as a proxy for actual learning in clinical skills.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire was administered to final-year medical students before and after a general practice attachment.
- The attachment focused on patient-centered management and core communication skills.
- Statistical analysis examined correlations between attitudes, confidence, and academic performance measures, controlling for prior academic ability.
Main Results:
- Only pre-attachment attitudes regarding the importance of consultation skills significantly correlated with performance.
- Student confidence in performing skills showed no association with academic performance measures.
- Students who valued consultation skills demonstrated better performance, suggesting motivation influences mastery.
Conclusions:
- Student attitudes towards the importance of consultation skills are a key predictor of their performance.
- Confidence in performing skills does not reliably reflect assessed competence or learning.
- Educational interventions should focus on fostering positive attitudes towards essential clinical skills to enhance student learning and performance.