Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2026
E-Patient Counseling Trial (E-PACO): Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy
Published on: August 1, 2019
Impact of an in-person versus web-based practice standardized patient examination on student performance on a
Karen E Hauer1, Calvin L Chou, Kevin H Souza
1Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143-0131, USA. khauer@medicine.ucsf.edu
Background:
Optimal methods of preparing students for high-stakes standardized patient (SP) examinations are unknown.
Purposes:
The purpose is to compare the impact of two formats of a formative SP examination (Web-based vs. in-person) on scores on a subsequent high-stakes SP examination and to compare students' satisfaction with each formative examination format.
Methods:
Clustered randomized trial comparing a Web-based module versus in-person formative SP examination. We compared scores on a subsequent high-stakes SP examination and satisfaction.
Results:
Scores on the subsequent high-stakes SP examination did not differ between the two formative formats but were higher after the formative assessment than without (p < .001). Satisfaction was higher with the in-person than Web-based formative assessment format (4.00 vs. 3.62 on a 5-point scale, p = .01).
Conclusions:
Two formats of a formative SP examination led to equivalent improvement in scores on a subsequent high-stakes examination. Students preferred an in-person formative examination to online but were satisfied with both.
