Communication Training in Adult and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Interpersonal and communication skills are essential for physicians practicing in critical care settings. Accordingly, demonstration of these skills has been a core competency of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education since 2014. However, current practices regarding communication skills training in adult and pediatric critical care fellowships are not well described. Objective: To describe the current state of communication curricula and training methods in adult and pediatric critical care training programs as demonstrated by the published literature. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the published literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. Three authors reviewed a comprehensive set of databases and independently selected articles on the basis of a predefined set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were independently extracted from the selected articles. Results: The 23 publications meeting inclusion criteria fell into the following study classifications: intervention ( n = 15), cross-sectional survey ( n = 5), and instrument validation ( n = 3). Most interventional studies assessed short-term and self-reported outcomes (e.g., learner attitudes and perspectives) only. Fifteen of 22 publications represented pediatric subspecialty programs. Conclusion: Opportunities exist to evaluate the influence of communication training programs on important outcomes, including measured learner behavior and patient and family outcomes, and the durability of skill retention.

Effect of multimodal comprehensive communication skills training with video analysis by artificial intelligence for physicians on acute geriatric care: a mixed-methods study

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that various communication skills training programmes are effective in improving physicians’ communication skills, similar to our study results. 39–41 However, the primary and secondary outcomes of these studies were based on a variety of healthcare professionals’ outcomes, including scales, health status, perception of the interview, perception of their behavioural change and perception of their attitude change. 39–41 To the best of our knowledge, no interventional studies of physicians have evaluated quantitative changes in basic communication skills, such as eye contact, verbal expression or physical touch.…”

“… 39–41 However, the primary and secondary outcomes of these studies were based on a variety of healthcare professionals’ outcomes, including scales, health status, perception of the interview, perception of their behavioural change and perception of their attitude change. 39–41 To the best of our knowledge, no interventional studies of physicians have evaluated quantitative changes in basic communication skills, such as eye contact, verbal expression or physical touch. The reason for the increase in physicians’ communication skills after this training is likely that its methodology provides a clear conceptual basis for communication skills.…”

Challenges and Learning Needs of Nurse-Patients’ Family Communication: Focus Group Interviews With Intensive Care Unit Nurses in South Korea

“…This finding justifies the importance of improving ICU nurses' communication capacity to achieve the cores of the FSM and ultimately promote family-centered critical care. Previous studies on ICU communication training primarily focused on training physicians to support structured family meetings and/or end-of-life decision-making (Mendez et al, 2020;Miller et al, 2016;Scheunemann et al, 2011). Because of the nature of nursing care, not every ICU nurse attends or facilitates family meetings; thus, these types of training may not be appropriate for nurses.…”

Adaptation as Both Necessity and Discipline: Communication Skills Training in the COVID-19 Era

“…As Chiarchiaro and colleagues appropriately acknowledge, their study does have some important limitations. First, like most studies of communication training in critical illness ( 17 ), this work did not measure objective improvement in learners’ skills after the hybrid-virtual training course. Second, the work was performed at a single center and led by faculty highly proficient in communication skills training; it is unclear whether training programs with less relevant experience or fewer resources would find the same degree of success.…”