Good communication with patients is now recognised as the cornerstone in effective medical practice. Medical students do not automatically acquire the art of good communication through clinical training. A new course to promote the development of communication skills at undergraduate level is described. The course was provided at the juncture between pre-clinical and clinical training. Course e...

PURPOSE Currently, there is a growing need for patient-centered radiology in which radiologists communicate with patients directly. The aim of this study is to investigate the preferences of referring physicians (RPs) regarding direct communication between radiologists and patients. METHODS This study was conducted in a single academic hospital using a survey form. The survey items investigat...

OBJECTIVE To study the local medical profession's opinions on the training requirements for the specialty of family medicine. This was to serve as a reference for future planning of the health care system. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING All registered doctors in Hong Kong. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Doctors' ratings on the importance of vocational training, professional...

PROBLEM What were the effects of a communication skills training intervention among a sample of young adolescents and parents who scored in the "extreme" range of the Circumplex Model of Family Systems? METHODS Thirty-seven young adolescents and a parent (intervention group) participated in communication skills training 2 hours/week for 6 weeks. Their responses on measures of satisfaction wit...

Rogaland Training and Education Centre, RKK, have developed a unique setting in how to exploit the formal education system by providing vocational training to industry. This has further been enhanced as e-learning based on the Internet experiences gathered in the NettLæR research project with Stavanger University College and several companies. The experience provides wide possibilities in provi...

improving and that communication is best learnt through observation in clinical situations. If the role models that medical students and junior doctors are observing are poor communicators how do we expect these learners to improve? I agree that observation and reflection is an important part of the experiential learning process, as is practising skills. But we know that in clinical situation l...

This study evaluates the efficacy of the preclinical communication skills training (CST) programme at the International Medical University in Malaysia. Efficacy indicators include students' (1) perceived competency (2) attitude (3) conceptual knowledge, and (4) performance with regard to patient-centred communication. A longitudinal study with a before-after design tracked a preclinical cohort'...