Dataset Information

An Advanced Communication Skills Workshop Using Standardized Patients for Senior Medical Students.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Medical students often lack training in advanced communication skills encompassing emotionally fraught situations and those in which an intense emotional response is expected. Such skills are required for clinical situations encountered during residency. We created and evaluated an advanced communication skills workshop (ACSW) using standardized patients for senior medical students. The workshop emphasized communication skills for four scenarios-strong emotion, goals of care, medical error, and palliative care assessment-and utilized formative peer assessment and feedback.

Methods

We created the four ACSW cases with case-specific communication behavior checklists and a common modified Master Interview Rating Scale in a Capstone Course for senior medical students. In groups of three, students rotated through three of four stations. Each student conducted one of the interviews while the other two completed the checklists and provided verbal feedback. We performed one-way analyses of variance on Likert responses and content analysis on open responses on a post-ACSW survey.

Results

Ninety-one students completed the ACSW and survey. Students assigned high value to all four ACSW student roles: interviewer, observer, feedback recipient, and feedback provider. Students rated the experience above average to excellent on nearly all survey items. Open-response themes included "liked the opportunity to give or receive peer feedback" (46%) and "found the checklists helpful" (45%).

Discussion

Feasible and well received by senior medical students, our ACSW offers an opportunity to practice and observe advanced communication skills and peer feedback. A peer-assisted, formative learning model, the ACSW efficiently addresses a key aspect of residency preparation.

SUBMITTER: Talwalkar JS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8155077 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Objectives: Training communication skills has come to be recognized as a vital aspect of medical school education. A medical communication course based on the COMSKIL Communication Skills Training (CST) Program was developed, integrated into the core curriculum, and evaluated at the Leipzig University Medical School. Methods: Between October 2016 and July 2017, 312 medical students (mean age 21.80 years; 62% male) participated in the medical communication course. Each course unit was evaluated via questionnaires specifically designed to address the theoretical and practical content of the curriculum. The items correspond to the material covered in each course unit. Students responded using a 5-point-Likert scale (1="not at all helpful", 5="extremely helpful") to rate the degree to which the course helped them learn about the subject matter and train the skills covered in the curriculum. Results: The average score for the first part of the course (theoretical foundations) was M=3.69 (SD=0.35). The second part received a similar rating (M=3.84; SD=0.73). The role play exercises with actor-patients received a score of M=4.27 (SD=0.62). In an overall evaluation at the end of the course, students rated the administration of the course (setting, etc), knowledge gained, and skills trained with a score of M=4.11 (SD=0.66). The role play exercises received an overall score of M=4.36 (SD=0.61). Conclusion: A new curriculum for teaching medical students patient-physician communication skills based on the COMSKIL CST program was established at the University of Leipzig. The goal of this course is to teach students about the kinds of communication scenarios they will encounter in their future working lives as care providers and equip them with the fundamental communication techniques and skills they need to successfully handle those situations. A formal evaluation of the program resulted in satisfactory findings, indicating that it is well suited for use in medical universities.

Project description:BackgroundPatient-clinician communication training is a core component of the undergraduate medical program. As with all areas of medicine, the best available evidence for teaching these skills should be incorporated into training programs. Examining the volume, type and design-quality of publications in this field can help to determine whether research is following a natural scientific progression to inform interactional skills training. This study aimed to review: (i) whether the proportion of publications examining teaching interactional skills to undergraduate medical students by study type, across three time-periods (2007-2008, 2011-2012, 2015-2016), changed over time (i.e. measurement, descriptive or interventions studies); and (ii) the proportion of intervention studies meeting Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) research design criteria.MethodsMedline, PubMed, PsycInfo and the Cochrane Database were searched for studies published in English from 2007 to 2016. Title and abstract reviews were performed for the included years. Articles were examined against the inclusion/exclusion criteria and those included were coded into descriptive, measurement or intervention categories.ResultsA total of 243 relevant publications were identified. Fifty-two were published from 2007 to 2008, 75 from 2011 to 2012 and 116 from 2015 to 2016. Most identified studies were descriptive (63%), followed by measurement studies (22%) and intervention studies (15%). The proportion of descriptive studies increased significantly over time. However, the proportion of intervention studies did not change and the proportion of measures studies significantly decreased. Of the 37 intervention studies identified within the three time-periods, only 16 (43%) met EPOC study design criteria.ConclusionsThe largest proportion of identified studies were descriptive, however, descriptive research is not sufficient to ensure communication skills training can effectively improve interactions between clinicians and patients. A more rigorous approach to research in this area is needed to inform education strategies.