What makes a good children's doctor? Exploring the child perspective in the OSCE setting

Background: Patient feedback is increasingly important in clinical practice, and this should include children's views. 28 children aged 8-10 years participating in a large-scale OSCE underwent cranial nerve examination by student candidates. They scored each out of 10 for the question: 'If...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical teacher 2016-05, Vol.38 (5), p.471-475
Main Authors: Bardgett, Rebecca J.M., Darling, Jonathan C., Webster, Elizabeth, Kime, Nicola
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Attributes
Candidates
Child
Children
Children & youth
Childrens Attitudes
Clinical medicine
Errors
Examiners
Feedback
Focus Groups
Health education
Humans
Medical students
Medicine
Patient Satisfaction
Pediatricians - standards
Physicians
Qualitative Research
Students, Medical
Surveys and Questionnaires
United Kingdom
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Summary:Background: Patient feedback is increasingly important in clinical practice, and this should include children's views. 28 children aged 8-10 years participating in a large-scale OSCE underwent cranial nerve examination by student candidates. They scored each out of 10 for the question: 'If you had to see a doctor again, how happy would you be to see this one?' An age-adapted qualitative focus group methodology was used to explore why they scored some students more highly than others. Results: Children's scores for the 256 medical students ranged from 2 to 10 (median 9; mean 8.46). 76% of scores were above 8. 'Good' doctor attributes included: 'friendly', 'funny', 'knowledgeable', 'confident'; 'bad' doctor attributes were: 'making mistakes', 'not paying attention', 'forgot everything', 'serious'. Children's reasons for specific scores are further explored. Discussion and conclusion: Scores were positively skewed, in line with most patient/simulated patient feedback, and children discriminated between candidates. It should not be assumed that clinician examiners can accurately represent the views of child patients who may value different qualities in doctors. Children participating in our study had clear views of what they want from a doctor: a consultative approach with clear and kind explanation of the process of examination.
ISSN:0142-159X
1466-187X
DOI:10.3109/0142159X.2015.1060301