Medical Students' Readiness for Prescription Communication Skills Training: A Needs Assessment Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Communication Skills Training
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Doctor-patient communication is vital for positive medical outcomes.
• Medical educators can improve communication skills training by assessing student attitudes.
• The National Medical Commission emphasizes prescription communication skills (PCS) training in pharmacology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess medical students' attitudes toward learning PCS in India.
• To address the lack of data on PCS attitudes in the Indian medical context.
• To utilize the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) for attitude assessment.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 131 second-year medical students.
• Utilized a validated 26-item CSAS (13 Positive Attitude Scale, 13 Negative Attitude Scale).
• Analyzed data using independent t-tests to explore socio-demographic associations.

Main Results:

• The CSAS demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.71).
• Students generally recognized the importance of communication skills (Mean PAS: 54.2±6.9).
• Male students and urban background students showed significantly lower positive attitudes toward PCS training.

Conclusions:

• Second-year medical students exhibit a strong inclination towards learning PCS.
• There is a need to emphasize and provide adequate PCS training.
• Effective doctor-patient interactions can be fostered through enhanced communication skills training.