Student performance on smoking cessation counseling with standardized patients

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Clinical Skills Assessment

Background:

• Significant gaps exist in medical school curricula regarding smoking cessation, a leading preventable cause of death.
• Cigarette smoking remains a major public health concern in the United States.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate medical student performance in smoking cessation counseling using standardized patients.
• To determine if performance with standardized patients correlates with other cognitive assessments in family medicine.

Main Methods:

• A curriculum incorporating smoking cessation training and high-stakes performance assessments was implemented.
• Students were assessed using standardized patients for smoking cessation advice over two periods (1997-2002 and 2003-2007).
• Performance on standardized patient assessments was analyzed for associations with concurrent cognitive examinations.

Main Results:

• Medical students consistently achieved high performance levels in smoking cessation counseling with standardized patients.
• Student performance on standardized patient assessments showed inconsistent associations with concurrent written and oral cognitive examinations.

Conclusions:

• Medical students demonstrate consistent competency in smoking cessation counseling with standardized patients.
• Findings support the need to expand medical student competency assessments beyond cognitive evaluations.
• Standardized patient assessments offer a reliable method for evaluating clinical skills in smoking cessation.