Student Evaluation Scale for Medical Courses with Simulations of the Doctor-Patient Interaction (SES-Sim)

OBJECTIVE Simulations of doctor-patient interactions have become a popular method for the training of medical skills, primarily communication skills. A new questionnaire for the measurement of students' satisfaction with medical courses using this technique is presented, the Student Evaluation Scale for Medical Courses with Simulations of the Doctor-Patient Interaction (SES-Sim). METHOD A set of items focusing on the course quality and the core elements of simulations was created and presented to 220 medical students who had been trained with this method. RESULTS Based on factor-analyses 18 items were selected for the final version of the scale, which represent five dimensions: learning success, actors, premises, tutors and students. The five dimensions are all significantly correlated with a 1-item-measure of the general satisfaction with the course. CONCLUSION The SES-Sim enables tutors to assess in an economic way whether the course has met the students' needs and what can be done better.