Evaluation of a Psychoeducational Intervention in the Development of Social and Communication Skills for Incoming Medical Students at a Bilingual University

Robson Zazula,Simone Appenzeller

doi:10.9788/tp2019.3-11

Abstract

Abstract Concerns about social skills in academic and professional settings are rarely considered. Undergraduate students and professionals without social and communication skills lead to an increase in the incidence of malpractice claims and interpersonal conflicts. The study is aimed at evaluating a psychoeducational intervention focused on improving social skills for incoming medical students at a bilingual university. A psychoeducational intervention was conducted in a required course from first academic term with 57 incoming medical students from Brazil and other Latin America Countries whose average age was 21.28 (SD = 4.04). The psychoeducational intervention occurred fortnightly for seven sessions which aimed to develop theoretical knowledge about communication and interpersonal relationships in academic and professional settings, interpersonal patterns, teamwork, and interpersonal problem solving. Prior and after the intervention, the students answered two self-report instruments to identify social skills and their academic experience. After the intervention, there was a significant average increase in scores related to social skills and academic experience. These increases were evident in the dimension/factor scores, as well as the total scores. The results demonstrated the importance of early and short-term interventions as a way to develop social and communication skills.

Highlights

The same method to calculate the standard error of measure (SE) and the standard error of the difference (Sdiff) were used in the present study, and a scatter plot was created for pre- and post-intervention scores for SSI-Del-Prette and Academic Experiences Questionnaire – reduced version (AEQ-r) with jagged band to show the Reliable Change Index (RCI) for all students in the intervention
The outcomes show that seven sessions of psychoeducational intervention could improve several skills related to communication, such as conversation, social and interpersonal skills for incoming medical students in academic settings
All skills developed during this intervention would be important requirements for the development of further competences in academic and professional settings, which will be analyzed in a long-term follow up study

Summary

Study Design and Participants

We completed a pre- and post-evaluation study of a psychoeducational intervention and all data was collected in 2017 at the beginning and ending of the first academic term (from March 2017 to June 2017). Students were required to work in small groups of up to five to rehearsal physician-patient situations and develop communication and interpersonal skills. Students with no designated roles were instructed to observe and evaluate the situation in terms of communication, interpersonal and social skills patterns and provide verbal feedback to the student who was leading the interview. The same method to calculate the standard error of measure (SE) and the standard error of the difference (Sdiff) were used in the present study, and a scatter plot was created for pre- and post-intervention scores for SSI-Del-Prette and AEQ-r with jagged band to show the RCI for all students in the intervention. Points above the shaded area represent an improvement; and points below the shaded area represent no change or deterioration

Results

F2 F3 F4 F5 Total Score

Discussion