Association Between Student Performance in a Medical Communication Skills Course and Patient-Physician Interaction Scores on a Clinical Performance Examination

Abstract

Purpose: Since 2006, Korea University Medical College has offered a medical communication skills program for third-year medical students. This study examined the relationship between medical student interview performance in a medical communications skills course and students' patient-physician interaction (PPI) scores on the Clinical Performance Examination (CPX). Methods: Participants were 130 fourth-year students who took both the medical communication skills course in 2006 and the CPX in 2007. Students' scores in performance evaluation, assessed by SP interview, and their PPI scores were used for data analysis. Results: This study hypothesized that students who performed well in the medical communication skills course would have high PPI scores on the CPX. Students' PPI total and individual item scores showed statistically significant differences by the performance level of the medical communication skills course. Some of these differences were statistically significant, even after controlling for the influence of GPA. Conclusion: This study has practical implications for medical communications education, demonstrating that the knowledge and skills that are acquired in a communications skills course can be maintained.