Critical review of the evaluation process of the innovative activity 'Interview with a Health Professional'

Abstract

Background The activity "Interview with a healthcare professional" is part of the teaching innovation project "Humanising healthcare (humanizAS)", is carried out by second-year medical students in the subject of psychology, and accounts for 10% of its final mark. The content of the interviews is related to obtaining a more “humane” doctor-patient interaction. Students should present the result in class and deliver a document including the main questions and answers, a critical reflection and a "phrase to remember". Our satisfaction surveys have been highly rated by students and professionals (4.4 and 4.9 scores out of 5, respectively). Summary Of Work After three years of experience, we believe it is important to analyse and critically review the way in which the activity was carried out and assessed. The main dimensions of evaluation were: 1) quality of the questions, 2) quality of the critical commentary, 3) bibliography use, and 4) formal aspects of the text. A total of 474 students in 93 working groups (33 in 2020, 29 in 2021 and 31 in 2022) interviewed 78 experienced professionals (mainly family doctors 20.4%, psychiatrists 18.3% and paediatricians 6.5%). The interview was mainly conducted by videoconference (66.7%). Summary Of Results The average final mark obtained by students was 8.5 out of 10 points. Our statistical study revealed significant differences between years for: 1) the way the activity was carried out (χ2=34.4, p<0.001), due to the gradual opening to face-to-face interviewing after COVID-19 restrictions; and 2) the final evaluation mark (F=5.2, p=0.008), higher in 2020 and 2021, compared to 2022, mainly in quality of questions, bibliography, and formal aspects (F=17.0, p<0.001; F=5.5, p=0.005; F=8.6, p<0.001, respectively). Discussion And Conclusion After three editions of the activity, both the rating and the satisfaction of the medical students was high. However, we envisaged ways to improve the stability of the evaluation (e.g., by including more detailed criteria through rubrics), as well as the possibility of including new criteria (e.g., a rating by the interviewed professional). Take Home Messages. An innovative activity such as “Interview with a healthcare professional” requires periodic reevaluation of its elements. However, we believe it has great potential for application in a variety of health education contexts.