Medical Communication Training: The Effect of Gender and Experience and Goals of Care Discussions

Communication skills are increasingly recognized as a crucial component of medical training; however, little is known about the efficacy of various training methods when considering diverse student backgrounds, such as gender and prior training experience (ie, year of residency). This study explores medical learners' perceptions of effective communication in conducting goals of care (GOC) discussions with patients after receiving communication training as well as assessing for differences in preparedness for GOC discussions by gender and prior training experience.

This study included a sample of 114 residents in either their first, second, or third year of Internal Medicine residency. Participants took part in the communication training and completed pre- and postsurveys on perceived effectiveness in GOC discussions. We used multivariate analyses to examine residents' perceptions of preparedness as defined by residents perceived effectiveness of care, confidence in having GOC discussions with patients, confidence in making recommendations that align with patient values, and the perceived value of GOC training.

We found that after communication training, most residents, regardless of gender or year of residency, felt more effective in having healthcare conversations with patients and making GOC healthcare recommendations. The effect of training was statistically significant when considering either interaction with gender or year of residency. We have also discovered statistically significant differences in the experiences of male and female residents when it comes to engaging in GOC discussions, based on their prior training in medical school. Female participants reported an increased frequency of practicing GOC discussions between years 2 and 3, whereas male participants reported the increase occurring between years 1 and 2.

The study shows that the same curriculum is effective for residents at each level of training, but more research on the interaction effect between prior training and gender is needed.