Running commentary recorded simultaneously to enhance videotape as an aid to learning interviewing skills

A previously unreported feedback technique, simultaneously recorded running commentary, was developed and evaluated. Thirty-two second-year medical students were videotaped while interviewing a patient. Each student then reviewed the videorecording once with only his own and the patient's voices accompanying the visual record, and also once with either the instructor's comments recorded on a second channel or with the instructor providing feedback on the performance in an interactive way. Visual analogue scales were used to estimate the value of the two feedback methods. Both the running commentary and the review-with-instructor formats were rated higher than the independent review method, although not significantly different from each other. The running commentary technique appears to be as effective as the conventional feedback approach and may prove a useful alternative when incompatibilities of the instructor's and student's schedules make review with the instructor difficult.