COMSKIL: a communication skills training program for medical students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Communication Skills Training
• Patient-Physician Interaction

Background:

• Effective communication is crucial for medical professionals.
• Medical schools increasingly recognize the need for structured communication skills training.
• The COMSKIL Communication Skills Training (CST) Program provides a framework for such education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop, integrate, and evaluate a medical communication course at Leipzig University Medical School.
• To assess the effectiveness of the COMSKIL CST program in training medical students.
• To equip future healthcare providers with essential patient-physician communication techniques.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 312 medical students participated in the course from October 2016 to July 2017.
• Course content, covering theoretical foundations and practical skills, was evaluated using 5-point Likert scale questionnaires.
• Specific evaluation focused on role-play exercises with simulated patients.

Main Results:

• Students rated the theoretical and practical components favorably (average scores of 3.69 and 3.84, respectively).
• Role-play exercises with actor-patients received high ratings for both learning and skill development (average scores of 4.27 and 4.36).
• Overall course administration, knowledge gain, and skills training were rated highly (average score of 4.11).

Conclusions:

• A new medical student curriculum for patient-physician communication skills, based on the COMSKIL CST program, was successfully implemented at Leipzig University.
• The program effectively prepares students for real-world communication scenarios encountered in healthcare.
• Formal evaluation indicates the curriculum is well-suited for adoption in medical universities.