Do I Buy It? How AIDETTM Training Changes Residents’ Values About Communication Skills in Doctor-Patient Interactions

METHODS As part of service excellence, a three-hour communication skills training in AIDETTM (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, Thank You) was delivered annually to first and second Post-Graduate Year (PGY) residents from multiple specialties. Residents were asked to selfevaluate the frequency with which they perform a set of designated communication skills during patient interactions. Audience response survey data from three consecutive years of training, 2012-2014, were analyzed to determine whether communication skills values changed over time. The survey items represent components of the AIDETTM mnemonic, originally developed by the Studer Group1 and utilized as a training model for its potential to improve patient satisfaction and health related-outcomes through improved physician-patient communication2. For each of 18 survey items, residents responded that they performed a given skill “Never,” “Rarely,” “Often,” or “Always.” For analysis, these responses were coded as 0, 1, 2, or 3 “points,” respectively. This coding system was chosen for ease of presentation compared to a statistically-equivalent 0-30-70-100 system that would represent relative percentage frequencies for the response set. Collective responses for each item were averaged post-hoc according to the aforementioned coding system, and compared among the three training years via non-parametric ANOVA. Patterns of differences (e.g., distribution of “Always” vs. “Often” responses, etc.) were compared via FisherFreeman-Halton tests (see Figure 1). Results for all items for all three years are shown in Table 1. Figure 1. Self-reported ratings for 3 items on which 2012 had generally worse scores than 2013 or 2014. Item #7: mention clinical specialty. Item #15: request patient’s permission to begin test or procedure. Item #17: gracious ending of the interview.