Communication Skills for Interns: Evolution and Assessment of a Training Workshop in a Medical College of New Delhi

Abstract

Considering the incidents of violence in health care setups reported from all over the country, we developed a one-day workshop to orient interns towards communication, conflict management, stress management and prescription writing skills. The objective was to impart training on effective communication and conflict management skills which are crucial to reduce the incidence of workplace violence, and improve the quality of services provided in our hospital. We describe the evolution of content and assessment of the workshops conducted for interns posted in the Department of Community Medicine during a period of one year since 01.01.2018. fter extensive review of literature, we prepared interactive presentations, developed games, innovative activities and role plays in context of the doctor-patient relationship. We modified the teaching learning methods to increase participant involvement, and added the use of video clips and flip-charts. Assessment of take home messages was done using an anonymous open-ended questionnaire (n=86). Codes were identified for the responses under three domains i.e. communication skills, conflict management and prescription writing. Likert scale was used to rate statements concerning the overall feedback for the workshop in a subset of interns (n=54). The most frequently reported take-home messages were on improving listening skills (41, 48%), learning the various conflict management techniques (61, 71%) and writing generic names and correct dosages (54, 63%), in each of the three sessions held on effective communication, conflict management and prescription writing, respectively. Majority of the interns strongly agreed that the workshop was needed (31, 57%), increased their knowledge (28, 52%), the small group exercises were beneficial (36, 67%) and that they would implement the skills they learnt (34, 64%). In conclusion, interactive, small group workshops on communication skills and conflict management for interns are a felt need, and have motivated them to implement various soft skills in their place of work.