Journal article
Training Surgical Residents to Communicate with Their Patients: A Scoping Review of the Literature
Journal of surgical education, Vol.78(2), pp.440-449
2021
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.08.018
PMID: 32928697
Abstract
Effective communication is critical in surgical practice and the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education requires a focus on interpersonal and communication skills. Absent a national communication skills curriculum for surgical residents, individual programs have designed and implemented their own curricula. This scoping review explores communication training in North American surgical residency programs.
The review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, and included articles identified through searches of 6 publication databases conducted on June 25, 2019 and updated on April 2, 2020. Eligible studies described patient or family communication skills education for surgical residents in North America. Published abstracts were excluded. Article abstracts were screened by 2 reviewers. For articles meeting criteria, data on study setting, participants, curriculum design, educational techniques, and skills focus were extracted and analyzed.
A total of 2724 articles were identified after removing duplicates; 84 articles were reviewed in full text. Thirty-three met study criteria including 4 from 2006 to 2009 and 29 after 2010. The most common skills education focused on breaking bad news, followed by a range of topics, such as empathy, end of life and/or palliative care discussions, medical error disclosure, shared decision making, and informed consent. Some of the training was part of larger curriculum including team training or professionalism. Over half of the studies involved general surgery learners. The most common form of education included didactics followed by practice with peers or simulated patients. Only half of the programs described curricula involving multiple training sessions which is important for ongoing development and skill reinforcement.
Effective communication skills are important, necessary, and increasingly incorporated into surgical training programs. While the literature is expanding, few surgical residency programs have described communication curricula. This review serves as a guide for programs interested in developing their own communication curricula for surgical residents.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Training Surgical Residents to Communicate with Their Patients: A Scoping Review of the Literature
- Creators
- Muneera R Kapadia - Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North CarolinaEdmund Lee - Department of Surgery, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VirginiaHeather Healy - Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IowaJonathan M Dort - Department of Surgery, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VirginiaMarcy E Rosenbaum - Department of Family Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IowaAnna B Newcomb - Department of Surgery, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of surgical education, Vol.78(2), pp.440-449
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jsurg.2020.08.018
- PMID
- 32928697
- ISSN
- 1931-7204
- eISSN
- 1878-7452
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2021
- Academic Unit
- Surgery; Family and Community Medicine; Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education; Hardin Library
- Record Identifier
- 9983993176002771
Metrics
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