Development and Evaluation of a Training Program for Organ Procurement Coordinators Using Standardized Patient...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Transplantation
• Communication Skills Training

Background:

• Low consent rates from next of kin significantly limit organ transplantation.
• Healthcare professionals play a crucial role in the organ donation consent process.
• Effective communication strategies are vital for sensitive family discussions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a communication skills training program for healthcare professionals.
• To improve the process of obtaining consent from next of kin for organ donation.
• To assess the effectiveness of standardized patient methodology in this training.

Main Methods:

• Developed a rubric and 5 standardized family interview cases.
• 20 participants conducted interviews pre- and post-training with standardized families.
• Peer assessment using the rubric and participant feedback were collected.
• Statistical analysis included generalizability coefficient and Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Main Results:

• All participants showed improved interview scores after training.
• Novice participants, initially uncomfortable, demonstrated significant gains.
• Standardized scenarios and patients were rated as highly realistic.
• Interviews, video recording, and debriefing sessions were key learning components.

Conclusions:

• The developed training program effectively improved communication skills for organ donor consent.
• Standardized patient methodology proved effective for this specialized training.
• The assessment rubric is a valid and reliable tool for future educational use.
• Participants exhibited significant enhancements in their communication abilities.