Impact of physician-patient relationship training on medical students' interpersonal skills during simulated medical consultations: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

In medicine, the patient-centered approach is based on interpersonal skills, including communication, structuring the medical interview, and empathy, which have an impact on health professionals' interpersonal relationships and the quality of care. Training courses on this issue are therefore being developed in universities. We hypothesized that specific training courses in the physician-patient relationship could improve interpersonal skills among medical students during simulated consultations and the immediate satisfaction of standardized patients.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study enrolled fourth-year medical students who participated in a simulated medical consultation session with standardized patients. The evaluation of interpersonal skills was carried out using the Four Habits Coding Scheme, producing a synthetic score out of 115 points used as the primary endpoint. Some students benefited from the training courses offered by the university or by other organizations, mainly based on communication, active listening, or patient-centered approach. A comparison was made with students from the same graduating class who had not received any training.

RESULTS

The analysis of the primary endpoint showed a difference of 5 points between the group of students who had attended at least one training course and those who did not (p = 0.001). This difference was even more marked when the students had completed several training courses, up to 14 points higher with three training courses (p = 0.001), each with positive results in different areas of the care relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

Physician-patient relationship training currently provided in initial education appears to be effective in improving interpersonal skills. A repetition of this training is necessary to increase its impact.

The effectiveness of assertiveness training program on psychological wellbeing and work engagement among novice psychiatric nurses

AIM

The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an assertiveness training program on psychological wellbeing and work engagement among novice psychiatric nurses.

DESIGN

A quasi-experimental design was utilized (one group pre/post assessment).

SETTING

The study was conducted at The Abbasia hospital for mental health in Cairo, Egypt.

SUBJECTS

The subjects of the study were 36 novice nurses who were starting their careers the hospital during 2017/2018.

TOOLS

The current study used four tools for collecting the data: socio-demographic data sheet, Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, Riff's Psychological Well-Being Scale, and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale.

RESULTS

The study results revealed a statistically significant difference between measure one and measure two intervention program regarding assertiveness skills, psychological well-being, and work engagement. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between the total mean scores of assertiveness skills and total mean scores of psychological well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

This single-group feasibility study demonstrated that assertiveness training for novice nurses seems feasible. It may achieve a favorable outcome in developing assertiveness skills and improving psychological wellbeing.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Further randomized controlled trials with more extended follow-up periods are required.

Factors Influencing Exposure to Secondhand Smoke: Passive Inhalation in Student Nurses

Objectives

To examine the factors affecting passive exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in non-smoking student nurses.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed in 196 college students who had not smoked cigarettes in the past 12 months. Urinary cotinine levels were examined to identify exposure to SHS, and social factors were identified that influenced exposure to SHS, including requests that smokers extinguish cigarettes. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict the factors influencing SHS.

Results

Urinary cotinine measurements showed that 32 students (16.3%) were exposed to SHS. Risk factors that increased exposure to SHS affected 80 students (40.8%) in the previous 7 days. Students who were exposed to SHS were 4.45-times more likely to have increased urinary cotinine levels than those who were not exposed. Students who asked others to extinguish their cigarettes were 0.34 times less likely to test positive than those who did not.

Conclusion

Urinary cotinine was a useful biomarker for identifying exposure to SHS, with respect to the influence of demographic, health-related, and smoking-related factors. In non-smoking nursing students, avoiding exposure to SHS was attributed to self-assertive behavior by requesting smokers to extinguish cigarettes.

Evaluating the impact of an assertiveness communication training programme for Japanese nursing students: A quasi-experimental study

AIM

To examine the impact of an assertiveness communication training programme on Japanese nursing students' level of assertiveness and intention to speak up when concerned about patient safety.

DESIGN

A quasi-experimental design with two parallel groups was used.

METHODS

Third-year nursing students from two Japanese educational institutions were allocated to an intervention and control group. The intervention group completed the Theory of Planned Behaviour-Assertive Communication Questionnaire and the Japanese version of the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule after attending assertive communication workshops. The second group completed the surveys before attending the workshop and were referred as the control group. Data were collected in December 2017-January 2018.

RESULTS

A total of 123 out of 150 nursing students completed the surveys. Following the assertiveness communication training programme, a higher percentage of students from the intervention group demonstrated the intention to speak up. The intervention group also displayed higher levels of assertiveness, although the results were not statistically significant.