Communication skills teaching for student dietitians using experiential learning and simulated patients

Area of Science:

• Dietetics Education
• Healthcare Communication Skills
• Experiential Learning

Background:

• Effective dietetic practice relies on strong communication competencies.
• Limited evidence exists on student dietitians' experiences and perceived value of communication skills training.
• This study addresses the gap by examining student attitudes and the impact of simulated patient interactions on communication confidence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure student dietitians' attitudes towards communication skills teaching.
• To assess the impact of experiential learning, including simulated patients, on student confidence in communication skills.
• To evaluate the importance of communication skills in dietetic practice from the students' perspective.

Main Methods:

• Developed and implemented a communication skills teaching program using an experiential, skills-based approach with simulated patients, feedback, and reflection.
• Administered a 67-item questionnaire measuring attitudes towards communication skills importance, learning attitudes, and self-confidence before and after the course.
• Utilized a five-point Likert scale for responses and employed McNemar's test for pairwise analysis of pre- and post-training data from 112 students over three academic years.

Main Results:

• Post-training, 100% of students recognized communication skills' importance for patient satisfaction and 99.1% for patient relationships.
• Attitudes towards learning communication skills remained positive with no significant change (P=0.162).
• Significant increases in 'very or extremely confident' ratings were observed for understanding patient perspectives (27.7% to 41.1%, P=0.008) and reaching agreement (4.5% to 17.9%, P=0.001).

Conclusions:

• Student dietitians perceive communication skills as vital for effective practice.
• The implemented teaching approach was positively received by students.
• Experiential learning, particularly with simulated patients, demonstrably enhances student dietitians' self-rated confidence in communication skills.