Introduction of a Motivational Interviewing Curriculum for Family Medicine Residents

The literature has shown that Motivational Interviewing (MI) education can be successfully implemented within the residency education environment; however, little research has described how to implement such a curriculum. We propose that residents' MI skills and confidence will increase following participation in an MI curriculum.

Thirty family medicine residents were invited to participate in an 8-hour MI curriculum. Residents completed pre- and post-course confidence questionnaires and the Helpful Responses Questionnaire (HRQ). Wilcoxin Rank Test was used to assess rank differences between pre- and post-course self-confidence ratings, and paired t tests were used to assess effect sizes of the curriculum on HRQ responses. Study outcomes included residents' self-perceived confidence in using MI skills and MI skill performance measured by HRQ scores.

Residents demonstrated an increase in confidence ratings after the course (n=21, mean before course: 4.19, 2.1 SD; mean after course: 6.71, SD 1.1). Both reviewers found an improvement in HRQ scores after course completion (Reviewer 1: Mean difference=6.05, 95% CI=2.83--8.26, Reviewer 2: Mean difference 4.19, 95% CI=2.19--6.19).

There was a statistically significant increase in residents' self-confidence ratings, as well as an improvement in MI skills post-intervention, as evidenced by a statistically significant improvement in MI-consistent HRQ scores.