The use of videotape in internal medicine training.

By paying attention to the power of the medium and the method of feedback, videotaping programs can be a remarkably successful teaching and research tool. Learners can view their performance, review feedback on their own behavior, knowledge, and displayed attitudes, and develop plans to change behavior that can be followed up on subsequent tappings. In addition, trainees can share important experiences with each other and valued teachers. Interviewing skills can be documented and preserved, creating a video library that allows trainees to actually visualize improvements in their own performances over time. An archive of many such performances allows trainees, faculty, and researchers alike comparative access to the complex challenges of the medical interview.