Interventional study on effectiveness of attitude, ethics and communication module in improving communication skills of undergraduate medical students in Maharashtra

Background: Attitude, ethics, and communication are key attributes in the doctor-patient relationship and to strengthen these qualities, the National Medical Commission in India, has introduced a course called attitude, ethics and communication (AETCOM) in the undergraduate medical curriculum. This study aims to assess the baseline level of communication skills of third year MBBS students in Maharashtra and also evaluate the effectiveness of the AETCOM module in improving their communication skills. Methods: An interventional study was conducted among 240 third year MBBS students from six medical colleges in Maharashtra over a period of seven months. Students' communication skills in seven core communication competencies were assessed before and after the implementation of the intervention, in the form of AETCOM communication skills training module, using a Kalamazoo essential elements communication adapted (KEECC-A) checklist. The difference in the means of pre-intervention scores and post-intervention scores were analyzed for statistical significance using ‘paired t-test’ (‘p’ value <0.05 considered significant). Results: Post-intervention, there was a highly significant improvement in total mean communication skills score of students to 94.4 (SD of 19.3) from the pre-intervention total mean communication skills score of 54.89 (SD of 11.55) and the difference was statistically significant. The statistically significant improvement was observed in all the seven core communication competencies assessed using KEECC-A checklist. Conclusions: The AETCOM module demonstrated significant effectiveness in improving communication skills among undergraduate medical students in Maharashtra.