Improvement of medical students' performance in simulated patient interviews by pre-clinical communication training
Author
Brotons de Los Reyes, Pedro
Virumbrales Cancio, Montserrat
Elorduy, Marta
Díaz de Castellví, Sandra
Mezquita, Pau
Gené Tous, Emilio Miguel
Publication date
2022ISSN
2042-6372
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.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
61 - Medical sciences
Keywords
Rendiment dels estudiants
Estudiants de medicina
Entrevistes simulades de pacients
Formació en comunicació preclínica
Rendimiento de los estudiantes
Estudiantes de medicina
Entrevistas simuladas de pacientes
Formación en comunicación preclínica
Student performance
Medical students
Mock patient interviews
Training in preclinical communication
Pages
6
Publisher
International Journal of Medical Education
Collection
13
Is part of
International Journal of Medical Education
Citation
Brotons de Los Reyes, Pedro; Virumbrales Cancio, Montserrat; Elorduy, Marta [et al.]. Improvement of medical students' performance in simulated patient interviews by pre-clinical communication training. International Journal of Medical Education, 2022, 13, p. 148-153. Disponible en: <https://www.ijme.net/archive/13/early-communication-training-for-improved-students-performance-in-simulated-patient-interviews/>. Fecha de acceso: 3 oct. 2022. DOI: 10.5116/ijme.6299.c15f
Link to the related item
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Ciències de la Salut [740]
Rights
© 2022 Pedro Brotons et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use of work provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0