Doctor-patient communication training with simulated patient during the coronavirus pandemic

During the state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Doctor-patient communication training for medical students at the University of Szeged was moved online. The training is based on the method of video analysis, involving simulated patients, making online implementation extremely challenging.

The study aims to present our experiences with the online training and to analyse the students' evaluations.

We used the free version of Zoom for small groups of five students, a trainer and a simulated patient. All students participated in a situation that we recorded. The viewing of the recordings was followed by group discussion. Then, the students evaluated the course using an online questionnaire. We used descriptive statistics and content analysis.

74.4% of the students (n = 64) completed the questionnaire. 78.1-100% of them gave a good (4) or excellent (5) evaluation for the questions. The highest average score (4.95 ± 0.21) was given to the professionalism of the trainers, the lowest was given to the choice of topic of the theoretical part (4.06 ± 1.02). The majority of the students were satisfied with the course, they would be happy to attend it again; however, in-person learning still seems to be the preferred option.

The online practice was a success. In many ways, it proved to be an adequate replacement for the traditional form. The students evaluated the training similarly to those of previous years. The lack of personal contact is a limiting factor, thus, online practice should not be seen as an alternative to personal communication trainings; however, as an independent form of training, it can make a significant contribution to effective, modern education. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(33): 1355-1362.