Korean J Med Educ.  2019 Jun;31(2):135-145. 10.3946/kjme.2019.2019.125.

Investigating the effects of interprofessional communication education for medical students

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Medical Education, Seoul National University College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2Department of Family Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3Navy Medical Office, ROK Submarine Force Command, Changwon, Korea.
  • 4Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
  • 5Department of Family Medicine, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Korea.
  • 6Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
Interprofessional communication skills are an essential competency for medical students training to be physicians. Nevertheless, interprofessional education (IPE) is relatively rare in Korean medical schools compared with those overseas. We attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of the first IPE program in our school.
METHODS
In the first semester of the school year 2018, third-grade medical students (N=149) at the Seoul National University College of Medicine participated in "˜communication between healthcare professionals in the clinical field' training, which consisted of small group discussions and role-play. To evaluate the effectiveness of this training, we conducted pre- and post-training questionnaire surveys. Comparing paired t-tests, we evaluated the students' competency in interpersonal communication and their attitude towards the importance of IPE before and after the training. The Global Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale (GICC-15) was used to evaluate competency in interpersonal communication.
RESULTS
Out of 149 students, 144 completed the pre- and post-training questionnaires. The total GICC-15 scores before and after training were 55.60±6.94 (mean±standard deviation) and 58.89±7.34, respectively (p=0.000). All subcategory scores of GICC-15 after training were higher after training and were statistically significant (p<0.05), except for two subcategories. The importance of IPE score also improved after training but was not significant (p=0.159). The appropriateness of content and training method scores were 3.99±0.92 and 3.94±1.00, respectively.
CONCLUSION
From the results, our school's IPE program demonstrated a positive overall educational effect. Deployment of systematic and varied IPE courses is expected in the future, with more longitudinal evaluation of educational effect.

Keyword

Medical students; Communication; Interprofessional relations; Role playing; Small group discussion

MeSH Terms

Delivery of Health Care
Education*
Humans
Interprofessional Relations
Mental Competency
Methods
Role Playing
Schools, Medical
Seoul
Students, Medical*
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