Clinical communication skills learning outcomes among first year medical students are consistent irrespective of participation in an interview for admission to medical school

Background: Although contentious most medical schools interview potential students to assess personal abilities such as communication. Aims: To investigate any differences in clinical communication skills (CCS) between first year students admitted to UQ medical school with or without an admissions interview. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 1495 student assessment scores obtained after structured communication skills training (CCS) between 2007 and 2010. Results: The average assessment score was 3.76 ([95% CI, 3.73-3.78]) and adjusting for student characteristics, showed no main effect for interview (p=0.89). The strongest predictor of scores was gender with females achieving significantly higher scores (3.91 [95% CI, 3.54-4.28] vs. 3.76 [95% CI, 3.39-4.13]; p≤0.001). Conclusions: Data show no differences in post-training assessment measures between students who were interviewed during selection or not. Further research about the quality and retention of communications skills after training is warranted.