Telephone management curriculum for pediatric interns: a controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Primary Care Pediatrics
• Communication Skills Training

Background:

• Effective telephone management is crucial in primary care pediatric settings.
• Residency training often lacks standardized curricula for developing telephone-based patient communication skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a role-play curriculum on pediatric residents' telephone history-taking and management abilities.
• To determine if targeted training improves skills in handling patient calls within a residency program.

Main Methods:

• A nonrandomized controlled trial was conducted with pediatric residents (PL-I).
• The treatment group received a role-play telephone management curriculum; the control group did not.
• Performance was evaluated using simulated patient calls assessed by blinded examiners.

Main Results:

• Residents trained with the role-play curriculum showed significantly higher scores in general history-taking compared to the control group (67.1% vs. 53.6%, P = .004).
• No significant increase in call handling time was observed for the treatment group.
• Posttest scores for general history taking, specific history taking, and general management were 59.4%, 75.9%, and 77.7% respectively for combined groups.

Conclusions:

• A role-play curriculum effectively enhances general history-taking skills in pediatric residents during telephone management.
• This training intervention offers a valuable method for improving essential communication skills in primary care residency programs.
• The curriculum demonstrates a positive impact on resident performance without compromising efficiency.