gms | German Medical Science

Introduction: The first month before entering the clinical environment 4^th-year students, who attended selected topics of propaedeutic, of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, are equipped by the peer tutoring system with the theoretical knowledge of how to obtain, report and submit a written anamnesis, which is finally orally evaluated by the peer tutors. At the end of the year students submit a written anamnesis which is evaluated by the professor. The aim of the study was to evaluate the need for additional patient history taking lessons during the school year to strengthen students' skill by evaluating start of the year’s vs final results.

Methods: 45 third-year students during the academic year 2023/2024 from Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor who attended selected topics of propaedeutic took part in this study. We compared the OSCE results for patient history-taking at the beginning and the end of the academic year. Students were taught how to take patient histories during the first month of the academic year and were then graded by their tutors. At the end of the year, students were placed in hospital departments, where they revisited the process of taking patient histories. Their performance was later assessed by their mentor.

Results: Overall results achieved were significantly higher in OSCE exam vs. in taking history on actual patient (p<0.001). Average percentage decline was 5.9%.

Conclusion: There was a statistically significant difference between the results achieved in the OSCE exam at the start of the academic year and those in taking history from an actual patient at the year’s end. The decline in the quality of written anamnesis over the academic year suggests that additional lessons or practice sessions throughout the year could help strengthen students’ skills.