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Assessing communication skills of GP registrars: a comparison of patient and GP examiner ratings
Author(s) -
Greco Michael,
Spike Neil,
Powell Roy,
Brownlea Arthur
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2923.2002.01175.x
Subject(s) - active listening , summative assessment , medicine , communication skills , interpersonal communication , family medicine , social skills , psychology , medical education , psychiatry , formative assessment , social psychology , pedagogy , communication
Context General practice. Objectives To compare ratings of GP registrars' communication skills by patients and GP examiners. Design A comparative study where the communication skills of GP registrars were assessed both by patients, using a validated tool called the Doctors' Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (DISQ), and by GP examiners as part of the Fellowship examination of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). Participants These included 138 GP registrars, 6075 patients, and more than 70 GP examiners. Results Spearman rank correlations were used to test the strength of the relationship between Fellowship examination and DISQ scores. Findings showed that there were several communication skills areas with mild (but significant) correlations between patient and GP examiner ratings. These areas included warmth of greeting, listening skills, respect, and concern for the patient as a person. No significant correlations were detected for explanation skills. Interestingly, the correlations between GP examiner and patient ratings were stronger for female GP registrars. Conclusion There is some evidence that patients' ratings of GP registrars' communication skills is aligned to ratings made by GP examiners as part of the summative RACGP Fellowship examination. However, further work is required to assess the strength of this alignment, given that patient–doctor communication is assessed more widely through new components of the examination.