Improvement of medical students' performance in simulated patient interviews by pre-clinical communication training.
Int J Med Educ
; 13: 148-153, 2022 Jun 17.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35716402
ABSTRACT
Objectives:
To compare the communication skills shown by medical students during simulated patient interviews between those who received training in communication during the preclinical years and those who did not.Methods:
A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the communication skills of several cohorts of fourth-year medical students from Universitat Internacional de Catalunya during simulated patient interviews. Out of a total of 477 students included in the study, 229 (48%) had received training in communication skills through a 60-hour elective course during the preclinical second year, while the remaining 248 (52%) had received none. Communication skills were assessed by an evaluation team using a numerical scale (0 to 10) that included eight categories "verbal", "non-verbal", "empathy", "concreteness", "warmth", "message content", "assertiveness", and "respect". Scores obtained by trained and non-trained students were compared using the t-test.Results:
A trend towards obtaining better results was observed among students who had received communication training (mean score 6.98/10) versus none (6.83/10, t(1,869)=-1.95, p=0.05). Non-trained male students obtained significantly lower mean scores than non-trained females in the categories of "respect" (7.48/10 vs. 7.83/10, t(968)=-2.89, p<0.01), "verbal communication" (6.87/10 vs. 7.15/10, t(968)=-2.61, p=0.01), "warmth" (6.53/10 vs. 6.95/10, t(968)=-3.40, p<0.01), and "non-verbal communication" (6.49/10 vs. 6.79/10, t(968)=-2.48, p=0.01). Trained female and male students had similar scores.Conclusions:
Training in communication skills during the preclinical years may improve fourth-year students' performance in simulated interviews with patients, particularly among males. These results demonstrate the importance of introducing specific training in communication skills early in the undergraduate medical curriculum.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Estudantes de Medicina
/
Educação de Graduação em Medicina
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article