‘Difficult Conversations with Patients’—A Modified Group Objective Structured Clinical Experience for Medical Students

Piotr Przymuszała, Patrycja Marciniak-Stępak, Magdalena Cerbin-Koczorowska, Martyna Borowczyk, Katarzyna Cieślak, Lidia Szlanga, Łucja Zielińska-Tomczak and Ryszard Marciniak
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Piotr Przymuszała: Department of Medical Education, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Patrycja Marciniak-Stępak: Department of Medical Simulation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Magdalena Cerbin-Koczorowska: Department of Medical Education, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Martyna Borowczyk: Department of Medical Simulation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Katarzyna Cieślak: Medical Simulation Centre, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Lidia Szlanga: Department of Medical Simulation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Łucja Zielińska-Tomczak: Department of Medical Education, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznan, Poland
Ryszard Marciniak: Department of Medical Education, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-806 Poznan, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: This study presents a modified Group Objective Structured Clinical Experience (GOSCE) focused on difficult conversations, in which, due to limited time and financial resources, only some students could actively participate in scenarios. We aimed to evaluate the intervention, including differences between them and observers. The intervention was organized for sixth-year medical students at a Polish medical university. The study protocol assumed a pre-post analysis of students’ attitudes and self-efficacy of communication skills and their opinions about the intervention. Complete questionnaire pairs were returned by 126 students. The pre-post analysis revealed a significant improvement in their self-efficacy levels of almost all skills as well as their affective attitudes and belief in outcomes of communication learning. The improvement was significant among both the active participants and observers. It also showed a decrease in the motivation score, significant only in females. Regardless of their roles, students had positive opinions about the course and its particular aspects. The modified GOSCE may be an enjoyable and effective learning experience for students, especially in the light of limited resources. However, changes in their motivation score suggest the necessity to increase the importance of communication learning in the curriculum.

Keywords: group objective structured clinical experience; simulated patients; delivering bad news to patients; difficult conversations with patients; medical students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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