Use of Checklists Teaches Communication Skills Utilized by Specialties

Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to implement the use of communication checklists and determine whether medical students were able to attend to and distinguish differences in communication skills between various physician specialties. Methods: As part of a newly-revised medical education curriculum, all first-year medical students at a mid-Atlantic medical school were required to complete a communication skills checklist while observing 10 clinical encounters performed by attending physicians. The checklists were collected and analyzed for trends found within the reporting. Results: Even novice learners distinguished complex medical communication skills when structured observation checklists were used as a teaching tool. Significant differences were noted in demonstrations of targeted communication skills when analyzed by physician specialty and gender. Conclusions: Structured observation checklists can be used as an instructional tool for exposing medical students to advanced physician-patient communication skills, providing students with guidance on what skills to observe and identify, and highlighting the differences in implementation of these skills across specialties. Practice implications: This study provides implications for faculty development as well as medical communication curriculum. Communication checklists can assist in providing structured observations and normative feedback for learners and faculty desiring to improve their physician-patient communication skills.