[An exploratory approach on teaching for prevention of medical error]

Medical error is prevalent in the contemporary practice of medicine. Prevention and solution of the majority of medical errors can be focused upon from the early stages of physician formation by improving knowledge and abilities with regard to human communication. Despite its importance, information systematized with empirical bases on the teaching of human communication in Mexico is non-existent.

Our purpose was to highlight the experience of an exploratory nature on the educative intervention on human communication in medicine in medical residents of different medical specialties.

A study of educational intervention was presented 216 medical residents of the National Institutes of Health in Mexico City on the topic of human communication in medical practice. Chi square distribution was employed to find associations among variables.

Eighty percent of students presented deficiencies in knowledge and thinking abilities for clinical communication. As a result of the educational intervention, 70 percent of medical resident students reached acceptable significant learning on the topic. There were no appreciable differences between the men and women in response patterns. Data indicated necessity of incorporating this topic pre-and postgraduate studies, to achieve improvement of quality of medical care and prevention of conflicts in medicine.