The effect of formal feedback sessions on test security for a clinical practice examination using standardized patients.

Objective: To determine the effects of formal feedback on test security for a clinical practice examination administered to successive rotations over a year's time.

Method: A seven case clinical performance examination was administered to ten rotations of students throughout an academic year in a required Ambulatory Care Clerkship. Three of the cases were developed at Saint Louis University School of Medicine (SLU); four of the cases were developed by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Immediately following each examination, the examinees participated in a feedback session for just the three SLU cases: checklists were displayed, and details of the cases were discussed. No feedback on the four NBME cases was provided. Student performance in successive rotations on the three cases in which students were given detailed feedback by the faculty was compared with performance on the four cases in which no feedback was given.

Sample: Data were collected from 119 students.

Results: The interaction of case and group was not significant, indicating no difference in the trend over the ten groups between the three cases for which feedback was provided and the four cases for which it was not. The results showed no significant increasing trend over the ten rotation groups for either cases where feedback was given or withheld.

Conclusion: The results suggest that the formal feedback sessions did not pose a threat to test security.