Improved patient notes from medical students during web-based teaching using faculty-calibrated peer review and self-assessment.

BACKGROUND: This study examines the effectiveness of Calibrated Peer Review (CPR), a Web-based writing development program, to teach and assess medical students' patient note-writing skills in a standardized fashion. METHOD: At the end of the clerkship year, 67 medical students were divided into three groups, introduced to CPR, and instructed in patient note-writing. Students then wrote notes for three clinical cases, presented in different order to each group. After training on faculty-calibrated standards, students evaluated their peers' notes and their own notes. Trained faculty, blinded to author, order, and group, also graded student notes. RESULTS: Faculty gave lower scores than students, but both groups found students' scores improved significantly from the first to the third note written. CONCLUSIONS: Student-written patient notes improved in quality while using CPR. The program uses approaches valued in medicine (accurate peer review and self-reflection) to enhance performance.