Training Surgical Residents to Communicate with Their Patients: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Effective communication is critical in surgical practice and the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education requires a focus on interpersonal and communication skills. Absent a national communication skills curriculum for surgical residents, individual programs have designed and implemented their own curricula. This scoping review explores communication training in North American surgical residency programs.

The review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, and included articles identified through searches of 6 publication databases conducted on June 25, 2019 and updated on April 2, 2020. Eligible studies described patient or family communication skills education for surgical residents in North America. Published abstracts were excluded. Article abstracts were screened by 2 reviewers. For articles meeting criteria, data on study setting, participants, curriculum design, educational techniques, and skills focus were extracted and analyzed.

A total of 2724 articles were identified after removing duplicates; 84 articles were reviewed in full text. Thirty-three met study criteria including 4 from 2006 to 2009 and 29 after 2010. The most common skills education focused on breaking bad news, followed by a range of topics, such as empathy, end of life and/or palliative care discussions, medical error disclosure, shared decision making, and informed consent. Some of the training was part of larger curriculum including team training or professionalism. Over half of the studies involved general surgery learners. The most common form of education included didactics followed by practice with peers or simulated patients. Only half of the programs described curricula involving multiple training sessions which is important for ongoing development and skill reinforcement.

Effective communication skills are important, necessary, and increasingly incorporated into surgical training programs. While the literature is expanding, few surgical residency programs have described communication curricula. This review serves as a guide for programs interested in developing their own communication curricula for surgical residents.