A National Survey of Communication Skills Topics Taught in Medical School Clinical Skills Courses

This report describes findings of a survey of clinical skills educators at U.S. Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)-accredited medical schools on the topics covered and pedagogical approaches used in preclerkship communication and interpersonal skills (CIS) curricula.

The Directors of Clinical Skills Education, the largest professional society of U.S. preclerkship clinical skills medical educators, developed a cross-sectional survey addressing 33 CIS topics, their pedagogy, and assessment in preclerkship curricula. The survey was sent to 136 LCME-accredited medical schools between November 2020 and April 2021. Descriptive statistics were used to explore trends; bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine associations between factors.

Results from 97 medical schools (71% response rate) identified a mean (SD) of 53 (38) hours of preclerkship curricula devoted to CIS teaching, with 24 schools (25%) reporting 24 hours or less. Schools reported teaching a mean (SD) of 22 (6) CIS topics, while assessing a mean (SD) of 14 (7). A positive association was found between the duration of CIS curricula and the number of CIS topics taught ( r = 0.39, P < .001), practiced ( r = 0.38, P < .001), and assessed ( r = 0.29, P = .005). A mean (SD) of 22 (6) of the 33 topics were taught, 16 (7) were practiced, and 14 (7) were formatively or summatively assessed. Statistically significant regional variation was found in the teaching of 5 topics.

Compared with previous surveys, U.S. medical schools currently teach considerably more CIS topics in preclerkship curricula, reflecting a responsiveness to contemporary social and public health concerns. The expansion of CIS teaching presents challenges, including the need for more time, standardization, and assessment. Medical schools can help address these needs by adopting robust longitudinal and integrated CIS curricula.