CONTEXT Residents' perceived needs in communication skills training are important to identify before designing context-specific training programmes, since learrners' perceived needs can influence the effectiveness of training. OBJECTIVES To explore residents' perceptions of their training needs and training experiences around communication skills, and whether these differ between residents tr...

INTRODUCTION Medical students have a serious need to acquire communication skills with others. In many medical schools, special curriculums are developed to improve such skills. Effective training of communication skills requires expert curriculum design. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and views of experts and stakeholders in order to design a suitable training program in ...

BACKGROUND Communication skills are an important component of the neurosurgery residency training program. We developed a simulation-based training module for neurosurgery residents in which medical, communication and ethical dilemmas are presented by role-playing actors. OBJECTIVES To assess the first national simulation-based communication skills training for neurosurgical residents. METH...

Difficult conversations about prognosis, end of life, and goals of care arise commonly in medical oncology practice. These conversations are often highly emotional. Medical oncologists need outstanding, patient-centered communication skills to build trust and rapport with their patients and help them make well-informed decisions. Key skills include exploring patients' perspectives, responding t...

OBJECTIVE Communicating the discontinuation of anticancer treatment to patients is a difficult task. The primary aim of this study was to clarify the level of oncologist-reported burden when communicating about discontinuation of an anticancer treatment. The secondary aims were (i) to identify the sources of burden contributing to their levels and (ii) to explore the useful strategies to allevi...

BACKGROUND Studies have shown a gradual decline in empathy of medical trainees with increasing years of education. METHODS to augment empathy show some promise, but the most effective methods are both expensive and time consuming. To assess effectiveness of communication skills training program as a distant learning method in improving empathy. METHODS Fourteen first year residents of psychia...