Teaching communication and compassionate care skills: An innovative curriculum for pre-clerkship medical students

Figures & data

Table

Practice points

Teaching communication skills to medical students helps demystify the subject. Communication sessions integrate communication and empathy in the Doctoring course. Patient cases, videos, role play, skills practice, and small and large discussions are effective components of the curriculum. Faculty experiences and strategies stimulate discussion and helps prepare students for clerkships. Guest physician patients have been positively received.

Table 1.  Structure and content of SCSs

	Pilot session MS1	Session # 1 MS1	Session #2 MS1	Session #3 MS1	Session #4 MS2
Large group session (60 min)	Attorney Brief case	Video examples of “good”/“bad” communication; Woman with breast mass case	Cultural competence; video from “When Things Go Wrong”	Medical error: patient presentation (90 min)	Attorney Brief case; the family meeting
Small group session (60 min)	Students role play physician, nurse and patient's son	Students role play (1) patient and spouse and (2) patient and physician	Students role play third-year medical student (1) Southeast Asian woman refusing Pap smear and (2) Liberian woman refusing CXR	Students discuss patient cases; practice communication strategies (90 min)	N/A
Panel and case wrap-up (60 min)	Geriatrician, Internist, Social Worker, University Chaplain	Geriatrician, Internist, Social Worker, University Chaplain	Dean of Minority Affairs, Internist for LBGT patients, Pediatrician for immigrant patients, health-care agency for local Southeast Asian patient population	N/A	N/A

Table 2.  Elements of “effective” and “less successful” communication (add your specific comments)

Panel A: Schwartz session: physician–patient communication – large group session
	Video #1 “One Story, Two Voices”	Video #2 “Back Pain”	Video #3 “Elaine's rash”	Faculty enactment of the KM and Dr. X case
Elements of “effective” communication - Do:
Greet patient warmly
Pay attention
Allow patient to speak
Make eye contact
Ask follow-up questions
Other (specify below or on other side of page)
Elements of “less successful” communication - Don't:
Act indifferent
Interrupt patient
Attend to distractions
Dismiss patient concerns
Show distancing body language (e.g., crossed arms, back to pt, going to door):
Other (specify below or on other side of page)
Panel B: Schwartz session: physician–patient communication – small group session
	Role play #1 comments		Role play #2 comments
Elements of “effective” communication - Do:
Greet patient warmly
Pay attention
Allow patient to speak
Make eye contact
Ask follow-up questions
Other (specify below or on other side of page)
Elements of “less successful” communication - Don't:
Act indifferent
Interrupt patient
Attend to distractions
Dismiss patient concerns
Show distancing body language (e.g., crossed arms, back to pt, going to door):
Other (specify below or on other side of page)

Figure 1. Overall rating of SCSs.

Figure 2. Achievement of learning objectives.