Cost-effectiveness of Peer Role Play and Standardized Patients in Undergraduate Communication Training

Overview

Journal BMC Med Educ

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Medical Education

Date 2015 Oct 27

PMID 26498479

Citations 30

Authors

Hans Martin Bosse

Martin Nickel

Soren Huwendiek

Jobst Hendrik Schultz

Christoph Nikendei

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The few studies directly comparing the methodological approach of peer role play (RP) and standardized patients (SP) for the delivery of communication skills all suggest that both methods are effective. In this study we calculated the costs of both methods (given comparable outcomes) and are the first to generate a differential cost-effectiveness analysis of both methods.

Methods: Medical students in their prefinal year were randomly assigned to one of two groups receiving communication training in Pediatrics either with RP (N = 34) or 19 individually trained SP (N = 35). In an OSCE with standardized patients using the Calgary-Cambridge Referenced Observation Guide both groups achieved comparable high scores (results published). In this study, corresponding costs were assessed as man-hours resulting from hours of work of SP and tutors. A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed.

Results: Cost-effectiveness analysis revealed a major advantage for RP as compared to SP (112 vs. 172 man hours; cost effectiveness ratio .74 vs. .45) at comparable performance levels after training with both methods.

Conclusions: While both peer role play and training with standardized patients have their value in medical curricula, RP has a major advantage in terms of cost-effectiveness. This could be taken into account in future decisions.

Citing Articles

Effect of two teaching methods on nursing students' acquisition of patient-centered communication competence in older people care: a cluster randomized trial.

Cortes-Rodriguez A, Lopez-Rodriguez M, Roman P, Granero-Molina J, Fernandez-Sola C, Hernandez-Padilla J Front Public Health. 2025; 12():1510620.

PMID: 39764191 PMC: 11701056. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1510620.

Does voluntary practice improve the outcome of an OSCE in undergraduate medical studies? A Propensity Score Matching approach.

Tsikas S, Afshar K, Fischer V PLoS One. 2024; 19(10):e0312387.

PMID: 39446696 PMC: 11500970. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312387.

Medical Students' Confidence After "CardioSim": A Low-Fidelity, Peer Role-Play Simulation.

Philp N, Omran A, Otorkpa M, Kirk A Cureus. 2024; 16(8):e67192.

PMID: 39295646 PMC: 11409831. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.67192.

Harnessing Innovative Technologies to Train Nurses in Suicide Safety Planning With Hospital Patients: Formative Acceptability Evaluation of an eLearning Continuing Education Training.

Darnell D, Pierson A, Tanana M, Dorsey S, Boudreaux E, Arean P JMIR Form Res. 2024; 8:e56402.

PMID: 39239987 PMC: 11415721. DOI: 10.2196/56402.

Impact of Multimodal Intervention on Empathy Levels in Medical Students: A Questionnaire-Based Study.

Bankar M, Gupta S, Kumar H, Agarwal M Cureus. 2024; 16(4):e59169.

PMID: 38807837 PMC: 11129940. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.59169.

References

Goodwin M, Gleason W, KONTOS H . A pilot study of the cost of educating undergraduate medical students at Virginia Commonwealth University. Acad Med. 1997; 72(3):211-7. DOI: 10.1097/00001888-199703000-00016. View

Bosse H, Schultz J, Nickel M, Lutz T, Moltner A, Junger J . The effect of using standardized patients or peer role play on ratings of undergraduate communication training: a randomized controlled trial. Patient Educ Couns. 2011; 87(3):300-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2011.10.007. View

Howley L, Szauter K, Perkowski L, Clifton M, McNaughton N . Quality of standardised patient research reports in the medical education literature: review and recommendations. Med Educ. 2008; 42(4):350-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2007.02999.x. View

Delvaux N, Merckaert I, Marchal S, Libert Y, Conradt S, Boniver J . Physicians' communication with a cancer patient and a relative: a randomized study assessing the efficacy of consolidation workshops. Cancer. 2005; 103(11):2397-411. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.21093. View

Heaven C, Clegg J, Maguire P . Transfer of communication skills training from workshop to workplace: the impact of clinical supervision. Patient Educ Couns. 2005; 60(3):313-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2005.08.008. View

Towle A, Hoffman J . An advanced communication skills course for fourth-year, post-clerkship students. Acad Med. 2002; 77(11):1165-6. DOI: 10.1097/00001888-200211000-00033. View

Gammon E, Franzini L . Revisiting the cost of medical student education: a measure of the experience of UT Medical School-Houston. J Health Care Finance. 2011; 37(3):72-86. View

Jayasekara R, Schultz T, McCutcheon H . A comprehensive systematic review of evidence on the effectiveness and appropriateness of undergraduate nursing curricula. Int J Evid Based Healthc. 2011; 4(3):191-207. DOI: 10.1111/j.1479-6988.2006.00044.x. View

Bosse H, Nikendei C, Hoffmann K, Kraus B, Huwendiek S, Hoffmann G . [Communication training using "standardized parents" for paediatricians--structured competence-based training within the scope of continuing medical education]. Z Arztl Fortbild Qualitatssich. 2008; 101(10):661-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.zgesun.2007.11.002. View

10.

Calvert M, Freemantle N . Cost-effective undergraduate medical education?. J R Soc Med. 2009; 102(2):46-8. PMC: 2642867. DOI: 10.1258/jrsm.2008.080353. View

11.

Kneebone R, Kidd J, Nestel D, Asvall S, Paraskeva P, Darzi A . An innovative model for teaching and learning clinical procedures. Med Educ. 2002; 36(7):628-34. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2923.2002.01261.x. View

12.

Wibley S . The use of role play. Nurs Times. 1983; 79(25):54-5. View

13.

Sloane P, Beck R, Kowlowitz V, Blotzer A, Wang L, Akins L . Behavioral coding for evaluation of medical student communication: clarification or obfuscation?. Acad Med. 2004; 79(2):162-70. DOI: 10.1097/00001888-200402000-00013. View

14.

Simpson M . How to use role-play in medical teaching. Med Teach. 1985; 7(1):75-82. DOI: 10.3109/01421598509036794. View

15.

Jones R, Korn D . On the cost of educating a medical student. Acad Med. 1997; 72(3):200-10. DOI: 10.1097/00001888-199703000-00015. View

16.

Junger J, Schafer S, Roth C, Schellberg D, Ben-David M, Nikendei C . Effects of basic clinical skills training on objective structured clinical examination performance. Med Educ. 2005; 39(10):1015-20. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02266.x. View

17.

Mason C, Fenton G . How successful is teaching on terminal care?. Med Educ. 1986; 20(4):342-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.1986.tb01377.x. View

18.

Cornuz J, Humair J, Seematter L, Stoianov R, van Melle G, Stalder H . Efficacy of resident training in smoking cessation: a randomized, controlled trial of a program based on application of behavioral theory and practice with standardized patients. Ann Intern Med. 2002; 136(6):429-37. DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-136-6-200203190-00006. View

19.

Kurtz S, Silverman J . The Calgary-Cambridge Referenced Observation Guides: an aid to defining the curriculum and organizing the teaching in communication training programmes. Med Educ. 1996; 30(2):83-9. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.1996.tb00724.x. View

20.

Lane C, Rollnick S . The use of simulated patients and role-play in communication skills training: a review of the literature to August 2005. Patient Educ Couns. 2007; 67(1-2):13-20. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2007.02.011. View