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Assessment of Communication and Interpersonal Skills Competencies
Author(s) -
Hobgood Cherri D.,
Riviello Ralph J.,
Jouriles Nicholas,
Hamilton Glen
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
academic emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.221
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1553-2712
pISSN - 1069-6563
DOI - 10.1197/aemj.9.11.1257
Subject(s) - accreditation , graduate medical education , medicine , core competency , medical education , social skills , timeline , interpersonal communication , competence (human resources) , excellence , communication skills , psychology , social psychology , archaeology , marketing , psychiatry , political science , law , business , history
Excellent communication and interpersonal (C‐IP) skills are a universal requirement for a well‐rounded emergency physician. This requirement for C‐IP skill excellence is a direct outgrowth of the expectations of our patients and a prerequisite to working in the increasingly complex emergency department environment. Directed education and assessment of C‐IP skills are critical components of all emergency medicine (EM) training programs and now are a requirement of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcome Project. In keeping with its mission to improve the quality of EM education and in response to the ACGME Outcome Project, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD‐EM) hosted a consensus conference focusing on the application of the six core competencies to EM. The objective of this article is to report the results of this consensus conference as it relates to the C‐IP competency. There were four primary goals: 1) define the C‐IP skills competency for EM, 2) define the assessment methods currently used in other specialties, 3) identify the methods suggested by the ACGME for use in C‐IP skills, and 4) analyze the applicability of these assessment techniques to EM. Ten specific communication competencies are defined for EM. Assessment techniques for evaluation of these C‐IP competencies and a timeline for implementation are also defined. Standardized patients and direct observation were identified as the criterion standard assessment methods of C‐IP skills; however, other methods for assessment are also discussed.