Current trends in communication skills training in UK schools of medicine

O Hargie, M Boohan, Mairead McCoy, P Murphy

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    46 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: Communication Skills Training (CST) is now mandatory for all students in UK Schools of Medicine. However, the extent to which all schools follow a similar curriculum is unclear.Aims: This paper reports the findings of a survey of CST teaching in all UK Schools and compares the findings with an earlier survey.Methods: A specially designed questionnaire survey was sent to all Schools, and this was supplemented by follow-up telephone interviews.Results: There is a high level of consensus across Schools about the aims and objectives of CST, its location within the overall curriculum, and how it is assessed. There is also a dedicated staff member specifically responsible for CST delivery in all Schools. A wide number of different specialisms also contribute to training. However, wide variations remain in CST pedagogy. In addition, several problems were identified in relation to the integration and operation of CST.Conclusions: While the paper identifies and delineates a typical or ‘modal’ model of CST in UK Schools of Medicine, it also emphasizes the importance of flexibility in this part of the curriculum.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)385-391
    JournalMedical Teacher
    Volume32
    Issue number5
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - May 2010

    Bibliographical note

    Reference text: Alexander S, Sleath B, Golin C, Kalinowski C. 2006. Provider-patient communication and treatment adherence. In: Bosworth H, Oddone E, Weinberger M, editors. Patient treatment adherence: Concepts, interventions, and measurement. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
    pp 329–372.
    Amin Z, Eng K. 2003. Basics in medical education. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.
    Brown R, Bylund C. 2008. Communication skills training: Describing a new conceptual model. Acad Med 83:37–44.
    Cegala D, Broz S. 2003. Provider-patient communication skills training. In: Thompson T, Dorsey A, Miller K, Parott R, editors. Handbook of health communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. pp 95–120.
    Fallowfield L, Jenkins V. 2006. Current concepts of communication skills training in oncology. In: Steifel F, editor. Communication in cancer care. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. pp 105–112.
    Fowler F. 2009. Survey research methods. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
    GMC 2003 Tomorrow’s doctors. London: General Medical Council. Retrieved May 11, 2009. http://www.gmc-uk.org/education/undergraduate/GMC_tomorrows_doctors.pdf
    GMC 2009 Tomorrow’s doctors 2009. A draft for consultation. London:General Medical Council. Retrieved May 11, 2009, from: https://gmc.econsultation.net/econsult/uploads/TD%20Final.pdf
    Hargie O. 2006. Training in communication skills: Research, theory and practice. In: Hargie O, editor. The handbook of communication skills. 2nd ed. London: Routledge. pp 553–565.
    Hargie O, Dickson D, Boohan M, Hughes K. 1998. A survey of Communication skills training in UK schools of Medicine: Present practices and prospective proposals. Med Edu 32:25–34.
    Kurtz S, Silverman J, Draper J. 2005. Teaching and learning communication skills in medicine. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Radcliffe.
    Roter D, Hall J. 2006. Doctors talking with patients/patients talking with doctors: Improving communication in medical visits. 2nd ed. Westport, CT: Preager.
    Silverman J, Kurtz S, Draper J. 2005. Skills for communicating with patients. 2nd ed. Oxford: Radcliffe.
    Street R. 2003. Interpersonal communication skills in health care contexts. In: Greene J, Burleson B, editors. Handbook of communication and social interaction skills. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. pp 909–933.
    Von Fragstein M, Silverman J, Cushing A, Quilligan A, Sailsbury H, Wiskin C, UK Council for Clinical Communication Skills Teaching in Undergraduate Medical Education. 2008. UK consensus statement on the content of communication curricula in undergraduate medical
    education. Med Edu 42:1100–1107.

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Current trends in communication skills training in UK schools of medicine'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this