Lifelong Learning Indicators in Medical Students After a Novel Communication Skills Session

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Communication Skills Training
• Psychology of Learning

Background:

• Growth mindset and mastery approach are recognized as beneficial learning orientations in medical education.
• Interventions to cultivate these orientations in medical students are infrequently studied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate if a communication skills session on delivering serious news could enhance medical students' communication growth mindset.
• To determine if the session could foster a mastery approach to learning among medical students.

Main Methods:

• An interventional survey study involving third-year medical students.
• Administration of communication mindset surveys pre- and post-intervention.
• Use of chi-square tests and logistic regression to analyze mindset changes and correlations.

Main Results:

• Student communication growth mindset significantly increased from 79% to 92% post-intervention.
• A majority of students (64%) demonstrated a mastery approach, with a strong correlation between growth mindset and mastery.
• The learning environment was perceived as safe by 99% of participants.

Conclusions:

• A communication skills session effectively fostered a communication growth mindset in medical students.
• The intervention promoted a mastery approach to learning, which was associated with a growth mindset.