Perception and Attitude of Medical Students towards Communication Skills Lab and Teaching Module

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Communication
• Surgical Training

Background:

• Effective patient communication is crucial for medical professional success.
• Early integration of communication skills training in undergraduate medical education is practical.
• Developing strong communication skills enhances patient care and outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate medical student perceptions of a Communication Skills Lab (CSL) and its teaching module.
• To assess student attitudes towards communication skills training in Central India.
• To determine the impact of a structured communication skills module on medical trainees.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted at Index Medical College, Indore, India.
• Undergraduate medical students participated in an eight-day systematic teaching module within a Communication Skills Lab (CSL).
• Feedback was collected using a Likert scale questionnaire post-training and analyzed.

Main Results:

• A vast majority of students (96.43%) perceived an improvement in their patient communication abilities.
• Students strongly advocated for the integration of such communication training into the national medical curriculum.
• The training module was found to be effective in enhancing communication skills.

Conclusions:

• Basic communication skills training can be effectively introduced early in the undergraduate medical curriculum.
• The developed teaching module is an acceptable and engaging method for imparting communication skills.
• Implementing communication skills training enhances the preparedness of future medical professionals.