Teaching and Assessing Communication Skills in Pediatric Residents: How Do Parents Think We Are Doing?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pediatrics
• Communication Skills Training

Background:

• Pediatric residency curricula often lack parent perspectives in communication skills assessment.
• Effective parent-physician communication is crucial for pediatric patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the assessment of pediatric residents' communication skills by Family Faculty (FF) versus parents of pediatric patients (standardized patients, SP).
• To evaluate the integration of the parent perspective in communication skills assessment for pediatric residents.

Main Methods:

• Residents underwent an Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) with a standardized patient (SP) role-playing as a parent.
• Communication skills were assessed using a behaviorally-anchored checklist, comparing ratings from FF and SP.
• Residents provided feedback on their OSCE experience.

Main Results:

• Family Faculty (FF) rated a lower percentage of residents demonstrating mastery compared to standardized patients (SP) across 19 of 23 behaviors.
• Significant differences were found between FF and SP in Total Mastery Score and competency domains: Respect and Value, Information Sharing, and Decision Making.
• The majority of residents found the assessment experience favorable.

Conclusions:

• Incorporating actual parents into pediatric residency communication training and assessment provides valuable insights.
• The parent perspective offers a unique and essential viewpoint for evaluating parent-physician communication skills.
• This approach integrates key stakeholders into the educational process for improved communication training.