Effects of Module Development and Role Play Course on Clinical Practice Examination Scores during a 4th Year Clerkship / 가정의학회지

BACKGROUND: After introduction of clinical skills assessment in the Korean Medical Licensing Examination, medical schools have reinforced both experiential learning with real patients and preparatory programs. This study was conducted to investigate whether a clinical practice examination (CPX) preparation program improves students' CPX score in terms of case specificity. METHODS: One hundred and thirteen senior students in a medical school participated in this study. During the fourth-year clerkship, 28 students (24.8%) from three rotation groups took a 3-day CPX preparation course consisting of module development, role play, and comprehensive physical exam skills training. Eleven rotation groups (n=85) were compared as control. Both the intervention and control group took two comprehensive CPXs before and after the clerkship was completed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in age, sex, and school type between the two groups. On pre-test CPX, there was no significant difference in total and sectional scores between the two groups. On post-test CPX, total scores of the intervention group were higher than those of the control groups (69.5±4.3 vs. 67.5±4.4, P < 0.05). History taking scores were higher in intervention groups (70.0±6.0 vs. 66.0±6.6, P=0.01). The station scores of vaginal discharge with case similarity were higher in the intervention groups (73.0±6.3 vs. 68.9±9.3, P=0.03). CONCLUSION: A short CPX preparation course improved history taking ability, but its effect was greater only in a specific case, similar to the pre-course case. Whether this effect was due to the test experience or true improvement in competency requires further investigation.

Comparison of Patient-Physician Interaction Scores of Clinical Practice Examination between Checklists and Rating Scale / 가정의학회지

BACKGROUND: The clinical practice examination (CPX) was introduced in 2010, and the Seoul-Gyeonggi CPX Consortium developed the patient-physician interaction (PPI) assessment tool in 2004. Both institutions use rating scales on classified sections of PPI but differ in their scoring of key components. This study investigated the accuracy of standardized patient scores across rating scales by comparing checklist methods and verified the concurrent validity of two comparable PPI rating tools. METHODS: An educational CPX module dyspepsia case was administered to 116 fourth-year medical students at Hanyang University College of Medicine. One experienced standardized patient rated exams using two different PPI scales. She scored checklists composed of 43 items related to the two original PPI scales through video clips of the same students. From these checklists, we calculated Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The correlations of total PPI score between the checklist and rating scale methods were 0.29 for the Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE) tool and 0.30 for the consortium tool. The correlations between the KMLE and consortium tools were 0.74 for checklists and 0.83 for rating scales. In terms of section scores, the consortium tool showed only three significant correlations between the two methods out of seven sections and the KMLE tool showed only two statistically significant correlations out of five sections. CONCLUSION: The rating scale and checklist methods exhibited a weak relationship in the PPI assessment, but a high correlation between assessment tools using the same method. However, the current rating scale requires modification by reorganizing key scoring components through factor analysis.

Serum Lipid Levels in Relation to Consumption of Yogurt: The 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey / 가정의학회지

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate serum lipid levels in Korean adults after consumption of different types of yogurt. METHODS: Study subjects were 3,038 individuals (≥19 years of age) who participated in the 2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Yogurt intake was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire by using the 24-hour recall method. We conducted complex samples general linear analysis with adjustment for covariates. RESULTS: The serum triglyceride levels in the group consuming viscous yogurt were lower than those in the group consuming non-viscous yogurt. CONCLUSION: Consumption of viscous yogurt is associated with low serum triglyceride levels in Korean adults.