Simulation-based multiple-choice test assessment of clinical competence for large groups of medical students: a comparison of auscultation sound identification either with or without clinical context

摘要

BackgroundAlthough simulation-based teaching is popular, high-fidelity, high-cost approaches may be unsuitable or unavailable for use with large groups. We designed a multiple-choice test for large groups of medical students to explore a low-cost approach in assessing clinical competence. We tested two different scenarios in assessing student’s ability to identify heart and lung sounds: by hearing the sounds alone, or in an enhanced scenario where sounds are incorporated into clinical vignettes to give clinical context.