Trial reportBMJ open2022
Randomised controlled monocentric trial to compare the impact of using professional actors or peers for communication training in a competency-based inverted biochemistry classroom in preclinical medical education.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Comparison of Error Rates in Technical Skills and Contextual Skills in a Large-Scale Peer-Assessed Clinical Skills Examination.Medical science educator · 2026Article
- A medical consultation simulation in a preclinical biochemistry seminar: Does training in a high-fidelity simulation practice provide an advantage over a simulation in a traditional seminar room?GMS journal for medical education · 2026Article
- Review
- Knowledge, attitude, and practice of cancer patients regarding radiotherapy and radiation protection.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Medical students in their first consultation: A comparison between a simulated face-to-face and telehealth consultation to train medical consultation skills.GMS journal for medical education · 2023Article
- Simulated patient training to improve youth engagement in HIV care in Kenya: A stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIn medical education, biochemistry topics are usually knowledge based, and students often are unaware of their clinical relevance. To improve students' awareness of the relevance, we integrated communication skills training into biochemistry education. No studies before have examined the difference between peer and standardised patient (SP) role plays where students explain the biochemical background of a disease in patient-centred language. Therefore, we evaluated whether students' self-perceived competency in Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists (CanMEDS) roles and their opinion of the quality of role play differ if the layperson is played by peers or SPs.
methodsWe randomly assigned medical students in a preclinical semester to one of the two groups. The groups used predefined scripts to role play a physician-parent consultation with either a peer (peer group) or an SP (SP group) in the parent role. Students then assessed the activity's effects on their competency in CanMEDS roles and motivation and the relevance of the role play. To determine whether students achieved biochemistry learning goals, we evaluated results of a biochemistry exam.
resultsStudents' self-perceived competency improved in both groups. The SP group rated their competency in the roles 'Scholar' and 'Professional' significantly higher than the peer group did. The peer group rated their competency in the role of 'Medical Expert' significantly higher if they played the role of the parent rather than physician or observer. The SP group agreed more that they were motivated by the role play and wanted to receive more role play-based teaching. The SP group perceived the role play as being realistic and rated the feedback discussion as more beneficial. The examination results were the same in both groups.
conclusionWe showed that role plays in a biochemistry seminar improve students' self-perceived competency. The use of SPs has some advantages, such as being more realistic.
Indexed as
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.