Acquisition of skills in digital rectal examination through supervised patient examination with real-time feedback in transrectal sonography room

摘要

Objective: To assess the acquisition digital rectal examination (DRE) skills by medical students through an alternative teaching method.Materials and methods: Medical students at the National Cheng-Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan in 2009 were assigned to receive training through supervised rectal examination (DRE) with real-time feedback in a transrectal sonography room during their standard urologic rotation. Students completed a questionnaire (before and after the training) regarding their experiences in performing DRE to assess their confidence levels. Direct observation of practical skills (DOPS) was used to assess the students' competence in performing DRE at the end of urologic rotation.