Teaching pediatric communication skills to medical students

Figures & data

Figure 1 Intended learning outcomes.

Abbreviation: TD09, Tomorrow’s Doctors 2009 General Medical Council.

Figure 2 Lesson plan.

Figure 3 Details of the three scenarios for teaching communication skills.

Notes: It is unusual to get a bruise in a 4-month-old child on the cheek and this raises concerns of child abuse. You need to explain that this needs to be further investigated, Luke needs to be admitted to hospital for this assessment and you need to make a referral to social services regarding your concern.
Abbreviation: CEAU, Children’s Emergency Assessment Unit.

Table 1 Questions asked of students, with their response to a 5-point Likert scale

Question	1	2	3	4	5	n
	Strongly disagree (%)	Disagree (%)	Neutral (%)	Agree (%)	Strongly agree (%)
1. Today’s session has been helpful in meeting my learning needs	0	0	4 (1.8)	84 (38.0)	133 (60.2)	221
2. The session was pitched at the right level for me	0	2 (0.9)	5 (2.3)	84 (38.2)	129 (58.6)	220
3. The session was interesting	0	0	2 (0.9)	64 (29.1)	154 (70.0)	220
4. I feel I gained new competencies during the workshop	0	0	11 (5.0)	95 (43.0)	115 (52.0)	221
5. I feel more confident communicating with children and their parents after this session	0	1 (0.5)	21 (9.5)	105 (47.5)	94 (42.5)	221
6. I felt comfortable asking the tutor questions	1 (0.4)	2 (0.9)	5 (2.3)	45 (20.4)	168 (76.0)	221
7. I received useful feedback from the tutor/s	1 (0.5)	2 (0.9)	9 (4.1)	65 (29.5)	143 (65.0)	220
8. I felt able to participate in discussion	1 (0.4)	0	3 (1.4)	60 (27.1)	157 (71.0)	221
Totals	3 (0.2)	7 (0.4)	60 (3.4)	602 (34.1)	1,093 (61.9)	1,765

Table 2 Numbers of free text comments, classified by their level of critique

Theme	Negative		Positive		Grand total
	1	2	3	4
Clinical scenarios	10	12	5	42	69
Environment	1	3	1	12	17
Feedback	4	2	2	24	32
Group sizes	5	19	5	4	33
Relevance of teaching	7	5	3	32	47
Timing of teaching	1	4	1	16	22
Tutors	0	1	0	21	22
Use of actors	7	4	1	12	24
Grand total	35 (13%)	50 (19%)	18 (7%)	163 (61%)	266

Notes: Key for codes used to classify level of critique in free text comments, as assessed by researchers: 1, negative; 2, negative but with additional constructive criticism; 3, positive with additional constructive criticism; 4, very positive.

Table S1 Clinical communication skills: domain-based self-assessment sheet

Domains of competence	Not achieved	Satisfactory	Good	Achieved with excellence
Communication skills (content)
Accuracy of information gathered or given, taking account of biomedical and patient ± family’s perspectives, ICEE - ideas, concerns, expectations & effects on daily life
Communication skills (process)
Introduces self by full name, clarifies reason for consultation Information gathering: patient centeredness- using open to closed questioning, short and long summaries, good nonverbal communication, managing patient’s concerns, demonstrating empathy, responding to verbal and nonverbal cues Information giving: elicit, provide, elicit model Ends consultation appropriately with clear follow-up plan
Clinical diagnostics and reasoning
Accurate summary and logical interpretation of clinical findings/data Differential diagnosis covers common and important “red flag” conditions when appropriate
Clinical care
Management plan and ability to appropriately justify choice of investigations
Professionalism and patient safety
Uses empathic behavior and language to develop rapport with patient and gives accurate explanations, appropriate to the patient (language and pace), checking patient understanding Considers patient safety, comfort, and dignity
What was done well?
What could be done better?

Note: Students are encouraged to use this sheet to structure their self-assessment and to provide feedback to their peers.

Abbreviation: ICEE, ideas, concerns, expectations and effects on daily life.