Factors influencing the communication skills of first-year clinical medical students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the factors influencing medical students' communication skills. The sample comprised all first-year clinical students. Thirty-two received teaching in communication skills during the year; the remaining 56 did not. Students' career preferences, attitudes towards communication skills and confidence in their ability to communicate with patients were assessed by questionnaire at the beginning and end of the year. At the end of the year each student was videotaped interviewing a simulated patient. Students' communication skills were assessed on the basis of this interview by raters using a standardized rating scale, and by patient questionnaires. While there was some evidence that brief communication skills training improved skills, sex of student was a more significant predictor of level of skill. Students who perceived communication skills as less relevant to medicine and those who were more confident about their own communication skills were more likely to prefer a career in hospital medicine. Students' judgements of their ability to communicate effectively were poor. In the main there was no relationship between confidence and level of skill: where they were related, the association was negative. The benefits from communication skills training might be enhanced by involving hospital doctors in the teaching, and providing students with detailed video feedback on their skills at the outset.

Physician Gender and Patient-Centered Communication: A Critical Review of Empirical Research

“…Fourteen studies included some measure of physicians' positive 507 talk. Six of these studies reported significantly higher levels of positive talk by female physicians (4,18,35,51,58,68). No studies reported higher levels of positive talk by male physicians and the combined p summarizing these studies was significant.…”

“…Two of these studies reported higher skill acquisition for female than for male medical students (35) or residents, whereas the third failed to find a training effect for any students (29). For instance, the Marteau et al study (35) found that simulated patients rated female students higher than male students on empathy, warmth, and competence, and that the videotaped interviews of female students were scored by trained observers as achieving higher levels of communication skill than those of males.…”

“…This category is distinguished from psychosocial exchange (see above) by directly expressing feelings and emotions. Thirteen studies coded emotional talk in some manner; four of these found significantly higher levels for female compared with male physicians (35,42,58,69), and the combined p was significant.…”

The Cancode interaction analysis system in the oncological setting: reliability and validity of video and audio tape coding

“…Communication skills do not improve with experience, and require appropriate training [12]. Current and ideal practice in the clinical encounter, and what constitutes effective communication training, are growing research areas [13][14][15]. Research and clinical application in this area require ways of accurately/reproducibly documenting doctor-patient interaction.…”

L’apprentissage des techniques de communication : attitudes des étudiants en médecine dans un hôpital universitaire au Liban

“…Le fait que les étudiants n'admettent pas un déficit en matière de techniques de communication peut constituer un obstacle à la mise en place d'un enseignement dédié à ces dimensions. Les études montrent d'ailleurs que les auto-évaluations par les étudiants sont faiblement corrélées avec les évaluations externes [21][22][23] et que les connaissances théoriques en TC ne permettent pas une communication réussie avec les patients. Ces données de la littérature remettent en cause la réalité des capacités des étudiants libanais en matière de communication et plaident en faveur d'études ultérieures comportant une évaluation par des tiers, ainsi que des éva-luations de la satisfaction des patients.…”