Teaching clinical communication skills in Ukraine: a cross-sectional study

Aim: To analyze the Ukrainian medical graduates' self-assessment of communicative competence, review the Ukrainian medical education related to teaching clinical communication, and to suggest ways of improving fostering clinical communication skills.

Materials and Methods: A descriptive literature review was done. The authors held a cross-sectional study using a convenience sample study in 2024 with the Bogomolets NMU 190 medical PhD students and practicing physicians, who were questioned to evaluate their clinical communication skills. The participants were offered a 12-item questionnaire regarding the clinical communicative competence, with open- and close-ended questions. The survey results were processed using statistical methods of grouping, generalization (in absolute and relative terms), and comparison. For relative values, standard errors and confidence intervals (95%) were calculated. The probability of difference between observation groups was determined using chi-square test (χ2). Open-ended questions were analyzed using the qualitative description method.

Results: Among eligible 700 individuals, 190 individuals participated in the study, including 120 medical PhD students and 70 practicing physicians. Total majority could not recollect being taught medical communication during their undergraduate studies. Only 16% have heard about the SPIKES protocol. The analysis of the open-ended questions revealed answer clusters, in which the respondents associated clinical communicative competence with language skills, emotional self-control and polite behavior. This could be caused by learning the communication course at the Language or Psychology Departments.

Conclusions: Clinical communication skills are underestimated in the medical curriculum, taught by non-clinical departments. The Ukrainian education needs integration of the clinical communication course into practice course, to be taught by practicing physicians, which, in its turn, requires training Ukrainian clinical teachers by European communication protocols.