A collaborative strategy to improve geriatric medical education

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Geriatric Medicine
• Communication Skills Training

Background:

• Growing elderly population necessitates enhanced medical education in geriatric communication.
• Current undergraduate medical curricula often lack sufficient training in communicating with elderly patients, especially those with dementia.
• A workshop was developed by geriatric, general practice, and psychiatry experts to address this educational gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To improve medical students' confidence and skills in communicating with patients with dementia.
• To promote patient-centered care and multidisciplinary collaboration.
• To provide a replicable teaching model for essential communication skills.

Main Methods:

• A workshop was delivered to 144 first-year clinical medical students.
• Student confidence was assessed using a 4-point Likert scale before and after the intervention.
• 104 matched pre- and post-intervention feedback forms were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test.

Main Results:

• Student-perceived confidence in communicating with dementia patients significantly increased post-workshop (median 2.75 vs. 1.50, P < 0.001).
• The intervention demonstrated a large effect size (r = -0.59).
• Qualitative feedback highlighted the value of non-verbal communication training, particularly for complex topics.

Conclusions:

• The workshop effectively enhanced medical students' confidence in communicating with patients with dementia.
• The teaching method successfully met objectives related to patient-centered care, self-reflection, and understanding patient needs.
• This easily replicable workshop offers a practical approach to improving crucial communication skills in medical education.