Medical students talking to patients

Observations were made of 108 pre-clinical medical students interviewing patients carefully selected by general practitioner tutors, under strict supervision in an audio-visual studio. Videotape replay allowed immediate feed-back to the student, and this was supplemented by direct comment from the patient. The consultations were also used for small group teaching (by CCTV). Although most students viewed the exercise as threatening, they appeared to find it a helpful experience. The method uncovered students with major defects in communicating at the personal level. Detailed analyses of the content of the interviews are being carried out, and will be the subject of a separate communication.