Using patients as educators for communication skills: Exploring dental students' and patients' views

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Healthcare Communication
• Patient Engagement

Background:

• Limited evidence exists on patient perceptions of providing feedback on dental student communication skills.
• The Department of Health and National Institute for Health Research advocate for patient involvement in clinical education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore issues faced by patients and dental students when patients provide feedback on student communication.
• To enhance understanding of patient involvement in clinical education.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study using focus groups with 10 dental students and 8 patients.
• Inductive thematic analysis of transcribed audio recordings.

Main Results:

• Four themes emerged: legitimacy, co-educators, patient-student relationship equilibrium, and feedback timing.
• Patients feel qualified to assess communication skills; both groups desire support, especially for negative feedback.
• Concerns include anonymity, confidentiality, feedback ownership, and optimal placement within the educational program.

Conclusions:

• Patients and students are amenable to feedback processes, with concerns addressable through support and training.
• Benefits of patient feedback can accrue to both patients and students.
• Findings are relevant for using patients as educators in healthcare communication skill development.