House staff communication training and patient experience scores

To assess whether communication training for housestaff via role-playing exercises (1) is well-received and (2) improves patient experience scores in housestaff clinics.

We conducted a pre-post study in which the housestaff for 3 adult hospital departments participated in communication trainingled by trained faculty in small groups . Sessions centered on a published 5-step strategy for opening patient-centered interviews using department-specific role-playing exercises. Housestaff completed post-training questionnaires. For one month prior to and one month following the training, patients in the housestaff clinics completed surveys with CG-CAHPS questions regarding physician communication, immediately following clinic visits. Pre-and post -intervention results for top-box scores were compared.

Forty -four of a possible 45 housestaff (97.8%) participated, with 31 (70.5%) indicating that the role-playing exercise increased their perception of the 5-step strategy. No differences on patient responses to CG-CAHPS questions were seen when comparing 63 pre-intervention patients surveys to 77 post-intervention surveys.

Demonstrating an improvement in standard patient experience surveys in resident clinics may require ongoing communication coaching and investigation of the "hidden curriculum" of training.