Improved clinical communication OSCE scores after simulation-based training - Results of a comparative study

Q: What was the main objective of the study?

To evaluate whether simulation-based training for communication skills has a lasting impact on students’ performance on a communication-focused OSCE 12 months later.

Q: How were communication skills measured?

By comparing students’ communication OSCE scores along with feedback from a post-examination survey.

Q: What did the study find about students who received CS-SBT?

Students who underwent CS-SBT had significantly higher CS-OSCE scores and tended to experience less nervousness during the OSCE.

Sep 20, 2026

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Simulation-based training (SBT) is increasingly used to teach medical students clinical patient-doctor communication skills (CS), yet evidence for long-term effects is limited. This observational study compared communication OSCE scores and post-exam feedback between students who received a CS-SBT intervention and those who did not, assessed 12 months later. Trained students achieved higher CS-OSCE scores and showed less OSCE nervousness, but reported persistent gaps in patient education, delivering bad news, and disclosing medical errors.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Practice implications

Introduction

Methods

Study design

Clinical communication skills educational programs

PLOS ONE OPEN ACCESS Citation: Nuzzo A, Tran-Dinh A, Courbebaisse M, Peyre H, Plaisance P, Matet A, et al. (2020) Improved clinical communication OSCE scores after simulation-based training: Results of a comparative study. PLoS ONE 15(9): e0238542 . [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238542](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238542) [Editor:](Editor: Conor Gilligan)[ Conor Gilligan](Editor: Conor Gilligan), [University of Newcastle](University of Newcastle), AUSTRALIA Received: May 10, 2020 Accepted: August 18, 2020 Published: September 4, 2020 Copyright: © 2020 Nuzzo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files. Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Abbreviations: CS, communication skills; OSCE, objective structured clinical examination; SBT, simulation-based training. RESEARCH ARTICLE Improved clinical communication OSCE scores after simulation-based training: Results of a comparative study Alexandre Nuzzo1☯*, Alexy Tran-Dinh1☯, Marie Courbebaisse2, Hugo Peyre1, Patrick Plaisance1, Alexandre Matet2, Brigitte Ranque2, Albert Faye1, Victoire de Lastours1, on behalf of the University of Paris OSCE and SBT groups¶ 1 Universit´e de Paris, Facult´e de M´edecine Paris-Diderot, Paris, France, 2 Universit´e de Paris, Facult´e de M´edecine Paris-Descartes, Paris, France ☯ These authors contributed equally to this work. ¶ Membership of the University of Paris OSCE and SBT groups is provided in the Acknowledgments. * [al.nuzzo@gmail.com](al.nuzzo@gmail.com) Abstract Objectives Simulation-based training (SBT) is increasingly used to teach clinical patient-doctor communication skills (CS) to medical students. However, the long-lasting impact of this training has been poorly studied. Methods In this observational study we included all fourth-year undergraduate medical students from a French medical school who undertook a CS objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and who answered a post-examination survey. OSCE scores and students’ feedback were compared by whether students had received a specific CS-SBT or not 12 months prior to the OSCE. Results A total of 173 students were included in the study. Of them, 97 (56%) had followed the CSSBT before the OSCE. Students who had undergone CS-SBT had significantly higher CSOSCE scores in the multivariate analysis compared to untrained students (mean score 7.5/ 10 ±1.1 vs. 7.0/10 ±1 .6, respectively, Cohen’s d = 0.4, p<0.01) . They also tended to experience less nervousness during the OSCE (p = 0.09) and increased motivation to further train in “real-life” internships (p = 0.08) . However, they overall expressed a general lack of CS in therapeutic patient education, delivering bad news, and disclosing medical errors. Conclusions Fourth-year medical students who benefited from a CS-SBT 12 months before examination displayed higher CS-OSCE scores than their counterparts. PLOS ONE | [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238542](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238542) September 4, 2020 1 / 12 Practice implications These results support the early introduction of practical training to improve communication skills in undergraduate medical curricula. Studies are required to assess the sustainability of this improvement over time and its effect on further real doctor-patient communication. Introduction Effective doctor-patient communication is an essential physician’s skill. In recent years, the medical literature has addressed the importance of improving physician-patient interaction [ 1] . Studies that hav

FAQs

What was the main objective of the study?

To evaluate whether simulation-based training for communication skills has a lasting impact on students’ performance on a communication-focused OSCE 12 months later.

How were communication skills measured?

By comparing students’ communication OSCE scores along with feedback from a post-examination survey.

What did the study find about students who received CS-SBT?

Students who underwent CS-SBT had significantly higher CS-OSCE scores and tended to experience less nervousness during the OSCE.

Sep 20, 2026

Upload by Gelato