Convergent evidence for the effectiveness of interpersonal skill training for dental students

Abstract

The Florida Interpersonal Skills Training (FIST) program for dental students has been evolving for five years. This current paper describes the development and current status of the FIST program and several pieces of evidence that indicate that the program is having its desired effect. This evidence includes (1) demonstration of short‐term change in the chairside behavior of students exposed to FIST, (2) more favorable patient perceptions of dentists who behave in accordance with FIST principles (an analog study), (3) student evaluation of the course employing FIST, and (4) practicing dentists' and auxiliaries' evaluation of the usefulness of the course content. It is concluded both that the course seems to be effective and that the evaluation procedures used are both practical and useful.

Development and implementation of communication skills in dentistry: an example from South Africa

“…Students rated the course in communication skills teaching highly in terms of its perceived educational value, relevance and enjoyment (Table 5). Although such a favourable rating is consistent with previous studies of communication skills programmes in dentistry (3, 21–26), students’ positive evaluations of this study may be as a result of the following:…”

“…Students rated the course in communication skills teaching highly in terms of its perceived educational value, relevance and enjoyment (Table 5). Although such a favourable rating is consistent with previous studies of communication skills programmes in dentistry (3, 21–26), students’ positive evaluations of this study may be as a result of the following: The methodology followed – the skills‐based, experiential teaching approach facilitates students’ reflection on their learning experiences during communication skills teaching. By experiencing the role of ‘dentist’ and ‘patient’ (Table 2, Step 3), students’ experiential learning processes were enhanced. Self‐evaluation, peer evaluation (Table 2, Step 3) and evaluation by the SP (Table 2, Steps 2 and 5), enhanced the experiential learning process and ensured positive reinforcement of the message as well as the retention of skills. Students gained confidence and expertise as the study progressed, which will hopefully make the transition to the clinical setting with real patients easier. The use of a realistic, clinically based case study gave students exposure to psychosocial and lifestyle factors relevant to oral disease processes (3, 27). …”

Adaptation of the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) to Dental Students

“…Broder and Janal found that dental students showed significant improvement in communication skills after two training sessions but that there was some loss of skills in the nine‐month hiatus between training periods, suggesting that communication skills can diminish without practice 16 . There are several instances in which dental school faculty members and administrators have attempted to enhance the number and quality of training opportunities for their students, 1 , 14 ‐ 15 and faculty members have advocated for the introduction of skills‐based communication training in the students' first clinical year and bolstering skills through additional training over an extended period 1 , 12 , 13 . Yet, despite the documented advantages of having good communication skills and a call to action to improve these skills among dental students, communication skills training is not standard practice in U.S. and Canadian dental schools, and even when taught, these skills are not as broadly used as desired.…”

A Communication Skills Course for Undergraduate Dental Students

“…Amongst dental practitioners themselves and specialist groups working in the field, there has also been a general acceptance of behavioral sciences and communication skills as important components of dental education 12– 15 . Dental students and teaching staff have evaluated communication skills training as highly relevant as well 12, 16– 20 . Only a small minority of surveys have indicated that attitudes towards communication skills training and behavioral sciences have been less positive or have worsened over time 10, 15 …”