Self- and peer assessment in a first-year communication and interviewing course.

Peer and self-evaluation are crucial in the professional development of physicians. However, these skills must be learned, and there are barriers to their acceptance and successful utilization. To overcome these obstacles, it has been suggested that these concepts should be addressed longitudinally throughout medical education. Therefore, first-year medical students were introduced to peer and self-assessment as part of a videotape review during an interviewing course by having students complete written peer and self-assessments of the interviews. Students' self-assessments were compared with the assessments of peers and faculty. Written evaluations showed peers were more lenient than faculty and students were most critical of their own performances. Students could provide balanced assessments of their peers but were predominately negative regarding their own performances. It appears first-year students are capable of evaluating their peers but have difficulty accurately assessing their own performance. Further interventions are needed to foster self-assessment skills in first-year students.