1. What is the Pediatric Clinical Skills Assessment?
2. What happens on the day of the Clinical Skills Assessment?
3. Who can I contact with questions or concerns about the CSA?

1. What is the Pediatric Clinical Skills Assessment?

Overview

The Pediatric Clinical Skills Assessment or CSA, uses standardized patients (SPs) to assess residents on their ability to gather information from their patients, perform physical exams, and communicate findings to patients and colleagues.

The purposes of the Pediatric CSA are as follows: 

1. To provide an objective measure of residents’ clinical skills;
2. To provide residents information about their strengths and weaknesses in clinical sciences and patient centered skills, which are the foundation of safe, effective medical practice; and
3. To provide information to demonstrate compliance with ACGME competencies.

Cases

The cases are representative of the types of clinical encounters experienced by pediatric physicians.  Cases reflect common and important symptoms and diagnoses from areas in pediatric practice. 

Pediatric Residency Directors from Akron Children’s Hospital and Tod Children’s Hospital/ Forum Health have collaborated with medical educators at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine’s (NEOUCOM) Wasson Center for Clinical Skills to create and approve appropriate Standardized Patient-based cases.

Skills to be assessed (ACGME Competencies in bold): 

• History
• Physical Exam
• Assessment
• Plan
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills
• Professionalism  
• Systems-Based Practice

Standardization

Both physician raters and Standardized Patients receive specific training to standardize rating and portrayal, respectively.  During the assessment, a physician rater observes all residents on a given case. The patient presentation is standardized for all students.  All student examinees  receive the same information when they ask SPs the same or similar questions. Consistency in both SP portrayals and rating of individual cases is factored into the quality control process. This ensures fairness and consistency in presentation and scoring across residents. During each encounter, a physician rater observes your performance and records data on a checklist, which may include items in history taking, physical exam, assessment, plan and communication skills. Each area of the assessment is weighted differently depending on the objectives of the given case and its complexity.           

2. What happens on the day of the Clinical Skills Assessment?

Overview

A 30-minute orientation in Room A-72 will begin at 8 a.m. for the morning session and 12:30 p.m. for the afternoon session.  Please arrive on time to receive instructions and materials. The CSA is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.  

Each resident will be assigned to the morning or afternoon session by their hospital. Please contact the residency director’s office at your hospital for further details.

Each SP case will present in an ambulatory setting, such as a primary care doctor's office, clinic, emergency room, or hospital. These patients represent common clinical scenarios.

Structure and Timing of Encounters

There is a total of seven 20-minute encounters

Residents will complete four stations, take a 10-minute break, and then complete three more stations.

Items that you need to bring:

• Your ID badge
• A stethoscope

3. Who can I contact with questions or concerns about the CSA?

The staff at the Wasson Center is prepared to assist you with any of your questions or concerns.

If you have any further questions, please contact Jinny Fedorchak at 330.325.6750 or Michele Rosenberger at 330.325.6747.