Teaching medical history-taking: a comparison between the use of audio- and videotapes

The efficacy of audiotape was compared with that of videotape as a way of teaching students the essentials of the medical interview. Two consultants--a general physician and a neurologist--were videotaped as they took histories from two patients. The neurologist described his methods and summarized his findings, but his interview was conducted conventionally without interruptions (continuous interview). In a contrasting style, the general physician frequently explained his methods and findings in steps, interrupting his interview to do this (discontinuous interview). Fifty students starting their main medical term were divided into two groups (A and B). Group A was shown the videotape of the discontinuous interview while group B was played an audiotape of that interview. Groups A and B were then crossed over, but this time group A was allowed only to hear the audiotape of the continuous interview, while the videotape of it was played to group B. After each tape the students were tested on its content. There was no significant difference between the mean scores of Group A and Group B when tested on the discontinuous interview and both groups scored well. For the continuous interview the group who saw the videotape scored significantly better than the group who only heard this tape. Both groups scored significantly better in the test based on the discontinuous interview than they did in the test based on the continuous interview. The results indicate that videotapes are a good medium for teaching history-taking, but also suggest that audiotape recordings of medical history-taking can be effective teaching aids if the interview is explained in stages.