Sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the Clinical Skills Assessment of the MRCGP: a mixed methods approach
Background: Differential performance in clinical skills assessments is a widespread phenomenon, for which there remain few explanations. Aim: To better understand the conversational contexts of simulated consultations and how candidates actually behave in these consultations and to determine soci...
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| Format: | Article |
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Royal College of General Practioners
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49889/ |
| _version_ | 1848798102647996416 |
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| author | Hawthorne, Kamila Roberts, Celia Atkins, Sarah |
| author_facet | Hawthorne, Kamila Roberts, Celia Atkins, Sarah |
| author_sort | Hawthorne, Kamila |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Background: Differential performance in clinical skills assessments is a widespread phenomenon, for which there remain few explanations.
Aim: To better understand the conversational contexts of simulated consultations and how candidates actually behave in these consultations and to determine sociolinguistic factors for high and low-performing candidates.
Design & setting: Taking the Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (MRCGP) clinical skills assessment (CSA) examination as a model, this research applied sociolinguistic analyses to case videos of 198 consecutive candidates presenting for the CSA examination. Method: Using a mixed-methods approach, both quantitative and qualitative sociolinguistics methodologies were combined to analyse video consultations, and findings were compared with those from group discussions with MRCGP examiners.
Results: There is more ‘talk’ in simulated consultations than in real life. On macroanalysis, there was little difference between poor- and well-performing candidates. However, microanalysis found subtle differences in structuring consultations, metacommunication, picking up cues, and misunderstandings with and giving explanations to patients. Formulaic talk, contrary to examiners’ perceptions was more common in successful candidates, but it was personalised and sited appropriately in the consultation.
Conclusion: This is an interactionally demanding form of clinical assessment, that requires giving support to candidates and a more analytic approach to the development of interpersonal skills. Sociolinguistic features of consulting to help trainers and candidates prepare for the CSA are identified. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:14:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-49889 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:14:26Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Royal College of General Practioners |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-498892020-05-04T18:34:39Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49889/ Sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the Clinical Skills Assessment of the MRCGP: a mixed methods approach Hawthorne, Kamila Roberts, Celia Atkins, Sarah Background: Differential performance in clinical skills assessments is a widespread phenomenon, for which there remain few explanations. Aim: To better understand the conversational contexts of simulated consultations and how candidates actually behave in these consultations and to determine sociolinguistic factors for high and low-performing candidates. Design & setting: Taking the Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (MRCGP) clinical skills assessment (CSA) examination as a model, this research applied sociolinguistic analyses to case videos of 198 consecutive candidates presenting for the CSA examination. Method: Using a mixed-methods approach, both quantitative and qualitative sociolinguistics methodologies were combined to analyse video consultations, and findings were compared with those from group discussions with MRCGP examiners. Results: There is more ‘talk’ in simulated consultations than in real life. On macroanalysis, there was little difference between poor- and well-performing candidates. However, microanalysis found subtle differences in structuring consultations, metacommunication, picking up cues, and misunderstandings with and giving explanations to patients. Formulaic talk, contrary to examiners’ perceptions was more common in successful candidates, but it was personalised and sited appropriately in the consultation. Conclusion: This is an interactionally demanding form of clinical assessment, that requires giving support to candidates and a more analytic approach to the development of interpersonal skills. Sociolinguistic features of consulting to help trainers and candidates prepare for the CSA are identified. Royal College of General Practioners 2017-02-15 Article PeerReviewed Hawthorne, Kamila, Roberts, Celia and Atkins, Sarah (2017) Sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the Clinical Skills Assessment of the MRCGP: a mixed methods approach. BJGP Open, 1 (1). pp. 1-9. ISSN 2398-3795 simulated consultations; communication skills; assessment; sociolinguistics; general practice http://bjgpopen.org/content/1/1/BJGP-2017-0713 doi:10.3399/ bjgpopen17X100713 doi:10.3399/ bjgpopen17X100713 |
| spellingShingle | simulated consultations; communication skills; assessment; sociolinguistics; general practice Hawthorne, Kamila Roberts, Celia Atkins, Sarah Sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the Clinical Skills Assessment of the MRCGP: a mixed methods approach |
| title | Sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the Clinical Skills Assessment of the MRCGP: a mixed methods approach |
| title_full | Sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the Clinical Skills Assessment of the MRCGP: a mixed methods approach |
| title_fullStr | Sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the Clinical Skills Assessment of the MRCGP: a mixed methods approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the Clinical Skills Assessment of the MRCGP: a mixed methods approach |
| title_short | Sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the Clinical Skills Assessment of the MRCGP: a mixed methods approach |
| title_sort | sociolinguistic factors affecting performance in the clinical skills assessment of the mrcgp: a mixed methods approach |
| topic | simulated consultations; communication skills; assessment; sociolinguistics; general practice |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49889/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49889/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49889/ |