MEDICAL INTERVIEWING AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS TEACHING IN UNITED-STATES MEDICAL-SCHOOLS - PROGRESS, PROBLEMS, AND PROMISE

Objective.-To assess educational practices, problems, and needs in the teaching of medical interviewing and interpersonal skills. Design.-Qu estionnaires sent to curricular deans and introductory course leaders at all US medical schools in 1991. Results.-Of 130 programs, 114 deans (88%) and 92 course directors (71%) responded. Respondents indicated some advances since a similar survey in 1977: Virtually all medical sc hools now offer teaching in medical interviewing and interpersonal ski lls. More faculty from a greater variety of disciplines are involved i n this teaching. Most programs feature observation and feedback of stu dents' interviews with patients, and use a variety of effective teachi ng methods, including simulated patients and role-playing, both little used in 1977. The majority of schools address students' personal grow th through discussion or support groups. However, there are problems. Most schools lack a faculty development process. About half of the int roductory courses on medical interviewing take place within physical d iagnosis courses, often, it appears, without systematic observation, f eedback, and evaluation of student skills. Many programs do not explic itly incorporate certain educational principles into their course desi gns. As in 1977, there appears to be little coordination or sequencing of teaching interpersonal skills throughout the curriculum in most me dical schools. Most deans identified significant barriers to improving teaching. Conclusions.-While a number of educational advances have oc curred there is still great variation in the quality and intensity of courses offered in US medical schools. However, the pace of progress b odes well for the future.