Application of Mini-CEX combined with student-standardized patients in rehabilitation medicine residents’ standardized training

The mini clinical evaluation exercise (Mini-CEX) is widely recognized as an effective measure for standardized training for resident physicians in European and American countries. However, in China, use of the Mini-CEX evaluation is limited to clinical patients. Previous studies have not assessed the combined efficacy of the Mini-CEX with student-standardized patients (SSPs) in rehabilitation medicine education. Therefore, this study explored whether combining Mini-CEX and SSP can improve resident physicians’ clinical and communication skills. The sample comprised students who received standardized training for resident physicians from January 2022 to December 2023. Before the training began, the observation and control groups received Mini-CEX evaluation. During the training period, the observation group received Mini-CEX combined with SSP evaluation every 2 weeks, while the control group was not evaluated. Before leaving the department after the eighth week, the resident physicians’ learning outcomes were uniformly evaluated, including theoretical knowledge, Mini-CEX, clinical thinking, and specialized skills. A questionnaire was used to collect students’ evaluations of teaching. After 8 weeks, the Mini-CEX combined with SSP group was superior to the control group in terms of consultation skills, communication skills, clinical judgment, humanistic concern, and overall clinical competency (p < 0.05). Compared with traditional Mini-CEX, resident physicians made greater progress in their clinical comprehensive abilities, especially in clinical thinking, patient reception and case writing (p < 0.05). The survey results indicated that resident physicians were highly satisfied with the Mini-CEX combined with SSP. Mini-CEX combined with SSP is an effective and reliable evaluation method for rehabilitation resident physician training, with advantages for improving students’ clinical abilities.