BEHAVIORAL-ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A COMMUNICATION PROGRAMFOR MEDICAL-STUDENTS

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a communication programme ta ught to medical students at the University of Melbourne in their precl inical years. The effectiveness of the programme was assessed by compa ring videotaped history-taking interviews completed by a cohort of fir st-year clinical students in 1986, who had not undertaken the communic ation programme, with a similar cohort of first-year clinical students in 1992 who had undertaken the programme. The students from the 1986 cohort who had not undertaken communication training in their preclini cal course completed their videotaped interviews as part of the experi mental evaluation of a consulting skills training programme carried ou t in 1986-87. A comparison of ratings given by two experimentally naiv e, independent observers revealed that the 1992 student cohort demonst rated some significantly better skills at questioning and facilitating communication with patients. By contrast, the 1986 student cohort sho wed significantly greater skills at maintaining relevance in their int erviews and greater capacity to explore patients' psychosocial concern s. These data suggest that students acquire the most effective intervi ew skills when interacting with patients during their clinical trainin g.