A Prelude to Modeling the Expert: A Generalizability Study of Expert Ratings of Performance on Computerized Clinical Simulations.

Context: The University of Iowa College of Medicine has developed a series of computer-based clinical simulations and successfully integrated them into the clinical clerkship curriculum. The computerized patient simulations provide a high degree of realism in simulating a clinical encounter. In an effort to improve the validity of our clinical skills assessment, we have initiated testing research utilizing these simulations.

Is that your final answer? Relationship of changed answers to overall performance on a computer-based medical school course examination.

Background: Whether examinees benefit from the opportunity to change answers to examination questions has been discussed widely.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to document the impact of answer changing on exam performance on a computer-based course examination in a second-year medical school course.

Methods: This study analyzed data from a 2 hour, 80-item computer delivered multiple-choice exam administered to 190 students (166 second-year medical students and 24 physician's assistant students).