Health Information Technology Commons^™

An Investigation Of Professionalism Reflected By Student Comments On Formative Virtual Patient Encounters, Ting Dong, William Kelly, Meredith Hays, Norman B. Berman

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: This study explored the use of virtual patient generated data by investigating the association between students’ unprofessional patient summary statements, which they entered during an on-line virtual patient case, and detection of their future unprofessional behavior.

Method: At the USUHS, students complete a number of virtual patient encounters, including a patient summary, to meet the clerkship requirements of Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and Pediatrics. We reviewed the summary statements of 343 students who graduated in 2012 and 2013. Each statement was rated with regard to four features: Unprofessional, Professional, Equivocal (could be construed as unprofessional), and Unanswered (students did …