Medical student training in communication skills

Abstract

Communication is increasingly understood to be a fundamental clinical skill. It is critical to effective diagnosis and management, as well as to connecting with patients on a cognitive and emotional level. In addition, communication skills themselves have been linked with patient outcomes, including satisfaction, adherence, and decreased malpractice incidence. For medical students, communication skills training generally begins in the pre-clinical years and extends into the clinical years, where increasing levels of sophistication and more in vivo experiences can be taught. This chapter reviews general approaches to teaching communication skills in medical schools and then considers several specific aspects to communication skills in oncology and palliative care for medical students. Approaches to communication teaching and assessment in medical school include small-group teaching and role play, interviews with real patients, and interviews with simulated patients. This chapter also considers the SEGUE framework for teaching and assessing communication skills and the link between communication and teamwork in palliative care.