A Standardized Clinical Case-Based Assessment for Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Spanish Communication Skills
Introduction Few standardized assessments exist for evaluating medical students' oral Spanish communication with patients. Educators in Medical Spanish need practical, accessible tools. We designed and implemented a standardized clinical case-based assessment to evaluate students' oral Spa...
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Association of American Medical Colleges
2025-04-01
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| Series: | MedEdPORTAL |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11518 |
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| author | Margot Mai Rose L. Molina Cristina Aguayo-Mazzucato Alejandro A. Diaz Katia Canenguez Hong Chen Cheung Nina Rivera Graupera Brandon Martel Silvana Bonilla |
| author_facet | Margot Mai Rose L. Molina Cristina Aguayo-Mazzucato Alejandro A. Diaz Katia Canenguez Hong Chen Cheung Nina Rivera Graupera Brandon Martel Silvana Bonilla |
| author_sort | Margot Mai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Few standardized assessments exist for evaluating medical students' oral Spanish communication with patients. Educators in Medical Spanish need practical, accessible tools. We designed and implemented a standardized clinical case-based assessment to evaluate students' oral Spanish communication skills upon course conclusion. Methods The students enrolled in the Intermediate and Advanced Medical Spanish courses during the Fall 2021 term were included. Students participated in a standardized clinical case-based assessment with a standardized patient. The students’ performance was evaluated using scoring of a binary checklist focused on 20 key components of the medical interview in Spanish, and 2 formative feedback items about their Spanish language skills. Results Twenty-eight students participated in the educational activity, including 13 from the Intermediate and 15 from the Advanced Medical Spanish courses. Of the participants, 43% (n = 12) were female, 89% (n = 25) were medical students and 11% (n = 3) were dental students, and 78% (n = 22) were first-year students at Harvard Medical School. Overall, students in both the Intermediate and Advanced levels achieved high aggregate performance scores, at or above 80%. Mean scores differed between the two groups (p = .0001). Discussion The standardized clinical case-based assessment effectively evaluated students' communication skills upon completing the longitudinal Medical Spanish course. It helped students ask key medical history questions in Spanish. Our curriculum offers a standardized patient case as a model for other instructors to assess oral medical Spanish communication skills. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2d75dc2d409d43399f06e0366c17d1a5 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2374-8265 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Association of American Medical Colleges |
| record_format | Article |
| series | MedEdPORTAL |
| spelling | doaj-art-2d75dc2d409d43399f06e0366c17d1a52025-08-20T02:12:01ZengAssociation of American Medical CollegesMedEdPORTAL2374-82652025-04-012110.15766/mep_2374-8265.11518A Standardized Clinical Case-Based Assessment for Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Spanish Communication SkillsMargot Mai0Rose L. Molina1Cristina Aguayo-Mazzucato2Alejandro A. Diaz3Katia Canenguez4Hong Chen Cheung5Nina Rivera Graupera6Brandon Martel7Silvana Bonilla8Third-Year Medical Student, Harvard Medical School; Fourth-Year Doctoral Student, Department of Anthropology, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and SciencesAssistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterAssistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Assistant Investigator, Section on Islet Cell & Regenerative Biology, Joslin Diabetes CenterAssistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Brigham and Women's HospitalInstructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Pediatric Psychologist, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General HospitalInstructor in Medicine, Brigham and Women's HospitalAssistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Attending Psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Boston Children's HospitalSummer Intern, Section on Islet Cell & Regenerative Biology, Joslin Diabetes CenterAssistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Boston Children's HospitalIntroduction Few standardized assessments exist for evaluating medical students' oral Spanish communication with patients. Educators in Medical Spanish need practical, accessible tools. We designed and implemented a standardized clinical case-based assessment to evaluate students' oral Spanish communication skills upon course conclusion. Methods The students enrolled in the Intermediate and Advanced Medical Spanish courses during the Fall 2021 term were included. Students participated in a standardized clinical case-based assessment with a standardized patient. The students’ performance was evaluated using scoring of a binary checklist focused on 20 key components of the medical interview in Spanish, and 2 formative feedback items about their Spanish language skills. Results Twenty-eight students participated in the educational activity, including 13 from the Intermediate and 15 from the Advanced Medical Spanish courses. Of the participants, 43% (n = 12) were female, 89% (n = 25) were medical students and 11% (n = 3) were dental students, and 78% (n = 22) were first-year students at Harvard Medical School. Overall, students in both the Intermediate and Advanced levels achieved high aggregate performance scores, at or above 80%. Mean scores differed between the two groups (p = .0001). Discussion The standardized clinical case-based assessment effectively evaluated students' communication skills upon completing the longitudinal Medical Spanish course. It helped students ask key medical history questions in Spanish. Our curriculum offers a standardized patient case as a model for other instructors to assess oral medical Spanish communication skills.http://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11518Medical SpanishCased-Based LearningClinical Skills Assessment/OSCEsCommunication SkillsStandardized PatientLanguage-Appropriate Health Care |
| spellingShingle | Margot Mai Rose L. Molina Cristina Aguayo-Mazzucato Alejandro A. Diaz Katia Canenguez Hong Chen Cheung Nina Rivera Graupera Brandon Martel Silvana Bonilla A Standardized Clinical Case-Based Assessment for Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Spanish Communication Skills MedEdPORTAL Medical Spanish Cased-Based Learning Clinical Skills Assessment/OSCEs Communication Skills Standardized Patient Language-Appropriate Health Care |
| title | A Standardized Clinical Case-Based Assessment for Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Spanish Communication Skills |
| title_full | A Standardized Clinical Case-Based Assessment for Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Spanish Communication Skills |
| title_fullStr | A Standardized Clinical Case-Based Assessment for Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Spanish Communication Skills |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Standardized Clinical Case-Based Assessment for Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Spanish Communication Skills |
| title_short | A Standardized Clinical Case-Based Assessment for Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Spanish Communication Skills |
| title_sort | standardized clinical case based assessment for evaluating medical students oral spanish communication skills |
| topic | Medical Spanish Cased-Based Learning Clinical Skills Assessment/OSCEs Communication Skills Standardized Patient Language-Appropriate Health Care |
| url | http://www.mededportal.org/doi/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11518 |
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