A Standardized Clinical Case-Based Assessment for Evaluating Medical Students' Oral Spanish Communication Skills.

Abstract

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.