A single session of formalised teaching in procedural skills in the early stages of a medical degree can have long-term effectiveness in basic skills competence and may increase students' confidence to practise their skills.

There is some evidence to support the value of a narrative design for virtual patients which are to be used to teach communication skills, which encourages further investigation.

The only significant difference regarding attitudes to consultation skills was that non-Western born students placed significantly greater importance on communication skills and the traditional diagnostic method postattachment than Western born students. No significant differences were found in attitudes preattachment. There were significant differences in performance, with students of ethnic background performing consistently poorer in all the final year assessment parameters analysed.

Medical students did not behave in a gender-neutral way in the consultation. There is a powerful interaction between a student's gender and a patient's gender. This warrants further investigation in the real clinical situation because it has implications on the outcomes of the consultation.