Effects on self- and external assessment of communicative competence - a control group-design study

Introduction: Communicative competence is essential for daily medical routine. The usefulness of communication-trainings for physicians is described in various publications. However, specific trainings in paediatrics are rarely found. A characteristic for paediatric work is thattheprimarycommunicationisnotonlywiththepatient–thechild–butalsowiththeparents.Besideself-assessmentexternalassessment by parents can be used for evaluation of paediatrician’s communicative skills. Methods: 28 paediatric residents (intervention group n = 14; control group n = 14) of the University Children’s Hospital of Heidelberg took part in a communication training using standardised parents and -patients (SP), video recording and feedback by peers, SPs and supervisors. Data of self-evaluated communicative competence in contact with parents was collected from all participants before and after the training of the intervention group. In addition there was an assessment of parents’ satisfaction with the paediatricians-parents communication concerning their children’s treatment nine weeks before and nine weeks after the training (n = 248). A follow-up survey to record the transfer into clinical practice was conducted with the participants after six months. Results: After the training participants of the intervention group showed an increased feeling of communicative competence in reference to communicative situations that were explicitly practiced in the training. The external assessment by parents generally showed a positive evaluation of paediatricians’ communication skills. However, a group effect was not found. In the follow-up survey participants reported an improved self-perception and specific elements of the training that facilitated the daily clinical practice with parents and their children.