Communication skills Assessed at OSCE are not Affected by Participation in the Adolescent Healthy Sexuality Program

We proposed that first year medical students who voluntarily participated in the Healthy Sexuality adolescent program would perform better than their peers on an adolescent counseling station at the year-end OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination). In addition we compared medical students? communication skills at the time of the program as assessed by self, peers and participating adolescents.

Nineteen first year medical students voluntarily participated in the ongoing Healthy Sexuality program. Adolescent participants, medical student peer participants and medical students assessed communication comp onents on a 7-point Likert scale at the end of the program. At the year-end OSCE, all first year medical students at the University of Western Ontario were assessed at an adolescent counseling station by a standardized patient (SP) and a physician exa miner. Statistical analysis examined differences between the two groups.

Students who participated in the Healthy Sexuality program did not perform better than their colleagues on the year-end OSCE. A statistically significant correlation between physician examiner and SP evaluations was found (r = 0.62). Adolescent participants communication skills assessments in the Healthy Sexuality Program demonstrated no significant correlation with medical student assessments (self or peer).

Voluntary intervention with adolescents did not result in improved communication skills at the structured year-end examination. Further investigation will be directed towards delineating differences between SP and physician examiner assessments.