Faculty-Led Intervention for Enhancing Advanced Physical Exam Skills in Graduate Education

Background: Traditional methods used to teach health assessment skills and diagnostic reasoning in an advanced health assessment and differential diagnosis course limit skill acquisition and personalized feedback. Integrating small-group learning, online simulations, and reflective practice may improve competency outcomes while aligning with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials and National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Core Competencies. Purpose: To integrate a multimodal intervention to enhance competencies in health assessment, diagnostic reasoning, and clinical documentation. Methodology: The Small-group Learning, Mega Skills Lab, Online Escape Rooms, and Reflection (SMOR) Toolkit was developed and implemented over 1 semester (n = 24) as a faculty-led intervention to enhance student competencies. Baseline and post-intervention measures, including Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) exam scores, Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan (SOAP) note documentation, and diagnostic accuracy, were collected. Results: Post-intervention HESI scores increased from 773 to 829 (+56), SOAP note documentation improved by 4 points, and diagnostic accuracy increased by 5.2 points in Evaluation 1 and by 6.1 points in Evaluation 2. Conclusion: Multimodal strategies in the SMOR Toolkit can enhance assessment skills, diagnostic reasoning, and clinical documentation.