Introductory Patient Communication Curriculum for Medical Physics Graduate Students: Multi-Institutional Experience
Purpose: Effective communication is the cornerstone of patient-centered care. Early exposure to these skills allows for ample practice, which is ideal for their development. As medical physicists become more front-facing healthcare providers, the importance of communication proficiency increases. This work presents an introductory curriculum to patient communication techniques for medical physics graduate students implemented in multiple institutions. Methods: This curriculum included didactic and practice components. After an orientation lecture to explain the training structure and expectations (<1hr), students participated in a simulated patient (SP) encounter where they explained to a “prostate patient” (actor) the process and purpose of simulation in radiotherapy (~15min). They then attended an interactive lecture developed with social workers on principles and techniques of effective patient communication (<2hrs) and participated in a second SP encounter (similar to previous but with a "breast patient” or "GI patient") to implement the presented communication methods (<15min). Students filled out pre- and post-training surveys to assess their confidence in patient communication (scale: 0=least confident, 5=most) and an evaluation rubric to score their encounters. Actors used the same rubric to evaluate students’ performance. Survey and encounter scores were compiled and evaluated for a statistically significant increase (1-tailed t-test, alpha=0.05). Results: This training included 33 students across 4 institutions. Students reported significant increases in preparedness for interacting with patients (mean_pre=2.4, mean_post=3.9, p<0.001), confidence in conveying medical information without technical jargon (mean_pre=3.4, mean_post=4.2, p<0.001), showing empathy (mean_pre=3.9, mean_post=4.2, p<0.03), and actively listening (mean_pre=3.8, mean_post=4.4, p<0.001). Encounter evaluations showed significant increases in scores between initial and final encounters (mean_pre_selfeval=60%, mean_post_selfeval=72%, p<0.001, mean_pre_actor=62% mean_post_actor=86%, p<0.001). Actors scored students’ performance during the final encounter significantly higher than the students’ self-evaluations (p<0.003). Conclusion: A patient communication introductory curriculum was successfully implemented in four institutions. This training significantly increased both confidence and competence in communication skills for participating students.
