Assessing proficiency in adult basic life support: student and expert assessment and the impact of video recording

Abstract

Self-assessment is an important aspect in the development of lifelong learning skills for medical students, crucial to maintaining a high level of competence in practice. Basic Life Support (BLS) is a skill that all health professionals must acquire and maintain competence in. This paper reports data from a study of 95 first-year graduate entry medical students at Flinders University in Australia, determining how well the students could assess their own BLS performance. These students were videotaped performing a short CPR scenario using a Resusci®Anne with SkillReporter™ (Laerdal, Norway). Using a six-point descriptive ratings scale, students graded themselves twice: once immediately after completing the task, and again after viewing a video of their performance. A single expert assessor viewed all the video recordings and, based on International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) Guidelines, graded the students using the same scale. The hypothesis was that the intervention of viewing their performance on video would improve the correlation of their ratings with the expert assessor. The results showed that the students’ assessments did not agree with the expert assessor either before (weighted κ = 0.03) or after seeing the video (weighted κ = 0.002). Possible reasons, including student attitudes and lack of benchmarking, are discussed. Self-assessment skills of students warrant further attention.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anna Vnuk

ANNA VNUK is a qualified GP who is currently Senior Lecturer in Medical Education and the Director of the Clinical Skills Learning Unit at Flinders University. Her interests lie in improving long-term learning by providing hands-on, realistic and innovative clinical skills teaching to medical students.

Harry Owen

HARRY OWEN is a Professor who trained in the UK (Bristol) and moved to Australia in 1986 after completing specialist training. He was awarded MD by Flinders University in 1990 for research on pain relief. He has established a high-fidelity simulation facility and current research is focused on teaching and learning acute care skills.

John Plummer

JOHN PLUMMER is Chief Medical Scientist at Flinders Medical Centre and Senior Lecturer, Flinders University, Adelaide. An accredited statistician, his interests include experimental design and data analysis.