Visual Intelligence Education as a Tool for Enhancing Medical Students' Self-Perception of Communication Skills

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Arts in Medicine
• Communication Skills Training

Background:

• Visual arts exposure can enhance medical education by fostering emotional intelligence and critical thinking.
• Effective communication is crucial for future physicians in patient rapport and teamwork.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a visual arts elective course on medical students' self-perception of communication skills.
• To measure changes in attitudes towards communication following arts-based training.

Main Methods:

• A 6-week visual arts elective course was conducted at Georgetown University School of Medicine and the National Gallery of Art.
• 16 second-year medical students participated in the intervention, compared to 14 control students.
• The Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) was administered pre- and post-intervention, with statistical analysis using t-tests or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests.

Main Results:

• No significant pre-survey differences were found between intervention and control groups.
• Post-surveys revealed statistically significant improvements in 6 CSAS questions for the intervention group.
• The intervention group showed positive changes in self-perception of communication skills, emphasizing teamwork and patient rapport, unlike the control group.

Conclusions:

• Visual arts education can significantly benefit medical students' communication skills.
• Exposure to visual arts positively influences future physicians' attitudes towards effective communication.
• This study supports further research into the link between arts education and physician communication development.