Feedback on video recorded consultations in medical teaching: why students loathe and love it – a focus-group based qualitative study

Nineteen of 75 students at the University of Bergen, Norway, participating in a consultation course in their final term of medical school underwent focus group interviews immediately following a video-based feedback session. The material was audio-taped, transcribed, and analysed by phenomenological qualitative analysis.The study uncovered that some students experienced emotional distress before the start of the course. They were apprehensive and lacking in confidence, expressing fear about exposing lack of skills and competence in front of each other. The video evaluation session and feedback process were evaluated positively however, and they found that their worries had been exaggerated. The video evaluation process also seemed to help strengthen the students' self esteem and self-confidence, and they welcomed this.Our study provides insight regarding the vulnerability of students receiving feedback from videotaped consultations and their need for reassurance and support in the process, and demonstrates the importance of carefully considering the design and execution of such educational programs.During the last couple of decades, the importance of good patient-doctor communication has been increasingly emphasized, and teaching communication skills in medical school and post graduate courses is no longer a novelty. There is increasing evidence to suggest that this educational input results in an overall improvement in the communication skills of medical students and doctors, especially where the training includes some form of feedback on the trainees' performance [1,2].One educational approach involves videotaping of consultations between medical student/ doctors and simulated or real patients, and providing personal feedback from others through later assessment of the taped consultations. Feedback on videotape or after direct observation has been shown to enhance development of both general communication skills and more specific consultation techniques [3,4]. Thi