First-year medical students can demonstrate EHR-specific communication skills: a control-group study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Informatics
• Physician-Patient Communication

Background:

• Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are integral to modern medical practice.
• Existing medical curricula lack specific training in EHR-integrated communication skills.
• Early identification of communication skill gaps is crucial for medical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate a curriculum for teaching EHR-specific communication skills to first-year medical students.
• To assess the impact of targeted training on students' ability to integrate EHR use into patient communication.
• To determine if EHR communication skills are developed spontaneously or require explicit instruction.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 17 first-year medical students.
• Intervention group received training in EHR mechanics and communication skills (guided discovery, didactics, role-play).
• Control group received only EHR mechanics training; skills assessed via standardized patient encounters.

Main Results:

• The intervention group demonstrated significantly improved performance in 6 out of 10 EHR-specific communication skills.
• No significant differences were observed in 10 out of 11 general communication skills between groups.
• Students did not spontaneously exhibit EHR communication skills without direct instruction.

Conclusions:

• First-year medical students are capable of acquiring and demonstrating EHR communication skills.
• Explicit instruction is required for medical students to effectively integrate EHRs into patient communication.
• EHR-specific communication skills appear distinct from and do not correlate with general communication competencies.