Improving clinical dysphagia interviewing skills by virtual patient creation

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of creating virtual patients on improving clinical dysphagia interviewing skills. Method(s): 29 graduate students in a dysphagia management class created and/or interviewed virtual patients (VPs). The VP creation group (n = 15) created interactive VPs through an on-line web application. The VP interview group (n = 14) interviewed preexisting VPs. VPs were interviewed by both groups at the start, mid-point, and end of the semester. Clinical dysphagia interviewing skills were assessed at each time point by calculating percent information discovered, number of questions per discovery, and diagnostic accuracy. ANOVAs examined differences in interviewing skills by group and time point. Result(s): Percent information discovered did not differ by group or time point. A significant reduction in number of questions per discovery was found for both groups at mid-point (F(1,26) = 14.1, p = .001) and end of the semester (F(1,26) = 33.1, p