Communication Training at Medical School: A Quantitative Analysis

Background: There is an increasing focus on communication between doctors and patients, and recent systematic reviews argue that teaching doctors necessary communication skills benefits patients at large. Moreover, patients report the lack of communication as their second-leading complaint. Motivational interviewing has proved to be person-centered in healthcare in communication between patients and doctors. Aim: To examine how being inspired by motivational interviewing theory and using the Calgary Cambridge guide could improve medical students' communication skills at the master level using a mixed-method approach. Methods: A cohort study with an exposed cohort compared to a non-exposed historical cohort. The participants were students in their sixth year of medical training from the Clinical Department of the University of Southern Denmark. The non-exposed cohort received laboratory training based on the Calgary Cambridge Guide. After this training, they participated in a two-month clinical "stay" and recorded two digital audio files of a real conversation with a patient about delivering information. The exposed cohort followed the same schedule but received additional special training in MI. All audio files were analyzed using the Motivational Interviewing Integrity method (MITI). An additional focus group interview was conducted to support the results. Results: Medical students demonstrated improvements in several essential areas of their communication style favorable to the MI approach, particularly empathy, and person-centeredness. The focus group interviews supported these findings.