Development and Evaluation of a 4-year Communication Curriculum in Motivational Interviewing Techniques for Behavioral Change

Nearly 40 % of premature deaths can be attributed to preventable behavioral factors; therefore, physicians and medical students need skills to influence patient behavior through a process such as motivational interviewing (MI). MI is an evidence-based approach to behavior change counseling that is patient centered and focuses on empathy and strong reflective listening. This manuscript describes how one academic center integrated MI into its 4-year medical education curriculum, which is the first longitudinal use of MI in curricula. The basis of the plan was to review patient-centered communication skills as an impetus for more effective behavioral change counseling. After completion of the MI training, a capstone project focused on using MI in smoking cessation reported a mean confidence of 7.06 ± 1.48 (scale, 1–10) in regard to helping a patient quit smoking (n = 143). Future research should determine the effectiveness of teaching the MI technique in other 4-year medical education curriculum throughout the USA.