Development of a self-assessment tool for resident doctors’ communication skills in India

Abstract

Purpose: Effective communication skills are essential for resident doctors to provide optimum patient care. This study was conducted to develop and validate a questionnaire for the self-assessment of resident doctors’ communication skills in India.Methods: This was a mixed-methods study conducted in 2 phases. The first phase consisted of questionnaire development, including the identification of relevant literature, focus group discussions with residents and experts from clinical specialties, and pre-testing of the questionnaire. The second phase involved administering the questionnaire survey to 95 residents from the Departments of Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, and Surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India in April 2019. Internal consistency was tested and the factor structure was analyzed to test construct validity.Results: The questionnaire consisted of 3 sections: (A) 4 items on doctor-patient conflicts and the role of communication skills in avoiding these conflicts, (B) 29 items on self-assessment of communication skills in different settings, and (C) 8 items on barriers to practicing good communication skills. Sections B and C had good internal consistency (Cronbach α: 0.885 and 0.771, respectively). Section C had a 2-factor solution, and the barriers were classified as ‘training’ and ‘infrastructure’ factors.Conclusion: This appears to be a valid assessment tool of resident doctors’ communication skills, with potential utility for identifying gaps in communication skills and developing communication skills modules.

Assessment of knowledge and reporting of adverse drug reaction in resident doctors in a teaching hospital in North India

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Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Evaluate Workplace Violence in Healthcare Settings

“…This questionnaire was developed and validated using a standard scientific approach [11][12][13]. This included a thorough study of the literature, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, expert opinions, pilot testing, and validation.…”

Development and Validation of a Comprehensive Questionnaire to Assess Interpersonal Discord (Bullying, Harassment, and Discrimination) at the Workplace in a Healthcare Setting

“…The development and validation of the questionnaire were performed using a mixed-method design with standardized techniques (Figure 1 ) [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. The study was approved by the Institute Ethics Committee of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (IEC-844/06.12.2019, RP-46/2020).…”