Why We Must Teach Written and Verbal Communication Skills to Medical Students and Residents

Simonson, Jean A.

doi:10.1097/acm.0b013e3182854f57

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…1 Whereas the history, physical, and diagnostic data can be obtained directly from the patient or the patient's chart, the written patient assessment statement requires critical thinking to communicate the key aspects of the case that warrant inclusion, in addition to the application of medical terminology that is a summative reflection of the entire case. [2][3][4] Emphasis on obtaining thorough histories is provided through curricula involving standardized patients and standardized testing such as clinical skills examinations 5 ; however, there is a lack of structured curricula specifically on the formulation of written patient assessments. 4 Most students learn by observation or by trial and error with inconsistent feedback.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Skill Session on Writing Patient Assessments for Pediatric Clerkship Students

et al. 2020

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Introduction Formulating written patient assessments requires the student to synthesize subjective and objective information and use clinical reasoning to reach a diagnosis. Medical students lack this skill, and clinical experience is not enough to acquire it. This session provides a structured process for learning how to formulate a patient assessment. Methods Third-year medical students participated in a large-group interactive skill session at the beginning of their pediatrics clerkship. Instructors following a scripted model walked students through practice examples to ultimately formulate a complete written patient assessment. The session covered data synthesis, use of appropriate medical terminology, and differential diagnosis development. Students used an audience response system to practice these skills. Results Over 1 academic year, 250 medical students participated in six sessions, with an average of 40–50 attendees per session. Over 90% of students completed pre- and postsession written patient assessments. These assessments were evaluated using portions of the Pediatric History and Physical Exam Evaluation grading rubric. The session had a positive effect on patient assessment formulation skills, with a significant increase in scores after the session. Discussion The session improved students' skill in generating more complete written patient assessments. Almost all students found the session valuable regardless of prior clinical experience. Nearly 50% of students felt inadequately prepared to formulate a written patient assessment prior to the session, revealing a skills gap for learners and a curricular teaching gap. This skill session provided a structured method and active learning format for teaching this essential clinical skill.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Skill Session on Writing Patient Assessments for Pediatric Clerkship Students

et al. 2020

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“…Given the importance of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prevention [5] and the contribution of inactivity to the development of NCDs establishing a good strategy that could actually lead to behavior change is required. In this regard, applying theory-based behavioral interventions have been suggested [6]. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) can be used to explain the beliefs, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention and behavior of individuals regarding PA [7].…”

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confidence: 99%

Improving physical activity in ‘Health Volunteers’: A randomized controlled trial

Jafarpour¹,

Arastoo²,

Gholammnia-Shirvani³

et al. 2020

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Background Health volunteers are women who have humanistic cooperation with healthcare centers to prevent diseases. Health volunteers play an important role in the community. Thus if educated, they could be of great help to health care systems. Since physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyles increase the risk of all cause mortality, the aim of this study was to educate health volunteers on physical activity (PA) applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Methods This was a randomized controlled trial of an educational intervention to improve physical activity among health volunteers in Shushtar (a southern city), Iran in 2016. A sample of female health volunteers was entered into the study and randomly was assigned to the intervention and the control groups. The intervention included three educational sessions and a walking program. A questionnaire containing items on TPB constructs including: attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention and behavior constructs, the international physical activity questionnaire, and the physiological cost index (PCI- an objective measure of PA) were used to collect data at baseline and 6 months follow-up assessments. Then the data were compared within and between groups using t-test and paried test. Results In all 110 ‘Health Volunteers’ (55 per each group) were entered into the study. The mean age of participants was 35.65 ± 10.25 years. The results obtained from analysis showed that educational program improved attitude towards PA, perceived behavioral control, intention, behavior and PCI among the intervention group (P < 0.001). However, no significant changes occurred in the control group in terms of the study variables (P > 0.05). Additionally, comparison of score changes between two groups showed significant differences for all variables except for subjective norms and physical activity behavior (minute per day) group (P > 0.05). Conclusion The TPB-directed educational program improved physical activity and physiological cost index. The study framework might be used as a practical template for interventions aimed at improving physical activity among women.

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“…Providing effective communication skills to nursing and midwifery students and helping them to reflect this on both work and personal lives is one of the main goals of education ( 2 ). According to Simonson ( 3 ), 25 years ago, formal writing courses were not offered at about 86 of 101 (85%) responding American medical schools. Furthermore, regarding his professional commitment, he hoped that his residents as well as other medical students would benefit from “formal professional written and verbal communication” programs soon.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…First the students were faced with wide variability in interviewing styles and different role models, second clinical teachers were not usually specialists in patient interviewing and third there was no valid method for assessment of interviewing skills ( 5 ). It seems that the efficacy of our communication skills programs is still under question and as Simonson has recommended, it needs something more than theoretical teaching ( 3 ). For instance, role modeling, critical reflections and formative and summative evaluations should be integrated in teaching programs.…”

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confidence: 99%