ABSTRACT
Background: Simulated Patient Case [SPC] software is a powerful educational tool used in several medical colleges to augment the clinical competence of students
Objective: To evaluate the impact of this software on the clinical competence of medical students
Design: A Prospective Pilot Study
Setting: Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain
Method: One hundred five fifth-year medical students attending internal medicine clerkship were divided into two groups: 43 [41%] students used the DXR software [group A] and 62 [59%] students did not use the software [group B]. The grades obtained at the end of clerkship examination of the students who used the SPC software [DXR] [group A] was compared to the grades of the students who did not use the software [group B]. In addition, we compared the performance of this cohort using DXR in year 4 with their grades at the end of clerkship examination. P-value of < 0.05 was
considered statistically significant
Result: Group A students performed better than group B at the end of the clerkship exam, which revealed that the differences in the mean scores were statistically significant [P-value < 0.030]. A positive correlation between the students DXR scores in year 4 and their grades in clerkship exam [year 5] was found. The correlations between the DxR [SPC] scores and the student's scores of different exam components [SAQs, OSCE, mid-rotation, bed-side and clinical exams] was statistically significant [P-value=0.01]
Conclusion: The beneficial effect of the DXR SPC software on clinical competence was revealed. Therefore, we recommend it for students' clerkship training