Study of the Status of Physicians-Patient Communication among Medical Interns

• Main Authors: Sa’eedeh Farajzadeh, E Noohi, H Mortazavi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services 2009-02-01
• Series: Journal of Medical Education
• Subjects: COMMUNICATION SKILLS, MEDICAL INTERNS, PHYSICIAN, PATIEN
• Online Access: http://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/jme/article/view/744
• ISSN: 1735-3998; 1735-4005

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Background and purpose: </span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Proper communication between a physician and a patient is the key to diagnosis and management of diseases.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Communication skills are essential for gathering information from patients, enhancing patients trust on physicians, relaxing them and managing them .</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">The main purpose of this study was to determine the states of communication skills of medical interns to communicate with patients.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Method: </span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">In this cross sectional study, communication skills of 72 medical interns of Kerman Medical University was assessed based on a checklist completed with direct observation and a questionnaire completed through interview with patients.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">The checklist included two parts: the first part for individual characteristics and the second part for 24 specifications related to initiation of an interview, conducting an interview and completion of an</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">interview.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Another questionnaire with a similar structure was developed to gather patients’ comments about communication of medical interns with them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Results: </span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Communication skills of medical interns were weak in 29.3%, moderate in 85.4% and good in 15.9% of interns. An agreement between observed communication skills and patients’ survey results about greeting, asking patients’ names and calling them by their names, acceptable physicians’ appearance, listening to patients’ words, friendly doctor- patient encounter, empathizing with patients (0.37, 0.26, 0.22.0.41and 0.44 respectively) was seen. Results of individual variables show that relationship between age of patient and his or her opinion about communication was significant.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Based on patient’s survey, the communication score given to the student increases with age of the patient.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Conclusion: </span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">The study shows deficits in doctor-patient communication of medical interns in history taking. Given the importance of communication skills, the necessity to teach them in clinical skill centers before real contact with patients is obvious.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Keywords: </span><span style="font-size: 6.5pt; font-family: Arial;">COMMUNICATION SKILLS</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">, </span><span style="font-size: 6.5pt; font-family: Arial;">MEDICAL INTERNS</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">, </span><span style="font-size: 6.5pt; font-family: Arial;">PHYSICIAN</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;">, </span><span style="font-size: 6.5pt; font-family: Arial;">PATIEN</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; direction: ltr; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: left; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></p>