Abstract
Purpose: Multiple interventions have been developed to teach and improve internal medicine residents' end-of-life communication skills, but have not been easily adaptable to other institutions. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a program to enhance physicians' end-of-life communication with families of dying patients using a format that could be incorporated into an existing curriculum for first-year internal medicine residents. Methods: An end-of-life educational program was developed and evaluated in the context of educating first-year residents at an urban academic medical center during the 2008-2009 academic year. The program consisted of three sessions including an interactive workshop flanked by pre- and post-workshop evaluations in simulated encounter and clinical vignette formats. Simulated encounters were recorded on video and residents' performances were rated by two independent observers using a 23 point checklist. Results: Complete data were available for 24 (73%) of 33 residents who participated in the program. The residents' checklist scores increased significantly from a mean of 48.1 at baseline to 73.9 at follow-up. The increase in the scores on the clinical vignettes was also statistically significant, but of lesser magnitude. Conclusions: A short, focused intervention can have significant impact on residents' communication skills in the setting of an end-of-life objective structured clinical examination (OSCE).
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 328-334 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2011 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- clinical vignette
- communication
- end-of-life
- interpersonal and communication skills
- medical education
- resident education
- simulated encounter
- standardized patient
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)