Study on the Training Effect of SIMROID Robot in Improving Medical Students' Patient-Clinician Communication and...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of different SIMROID robot training approaches in improving the patient-clinician communication ability of dental students.

A total of 82 fourth-grade students from Peking University Medical College of Stomatology were included in the study, and divided into an experimental group (43 cases) and a control group (39 cases). In the experimental group, students first practiced with SIMROID robots to simulate patient training, followed by peer discussions. Training was conducted once a week for 2 hours each time, for a total of 6 weeks. The control group used the same SIMROID robot training, but with a reversed sequence-students first engaged in peer communication followed by robot training. The study comprehensively evaluates students' abilities in patient-clinician communication and behavior management by means of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), operational process record analysis and observational scoring. Statistical analysis uses SPSS 25.0 software to evaluate the differences in communication skills, operational standardization and behavior management ability between the two groups in different periods.

In the OSCE assessment, the scores of the experimental group in preoperative communication and patient comfort, emergency management, and postoperative communication and feedback were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05). The analysis of operation process records showed that the experimental group showed progressive improvement in operational performance across weeks, though weekly comparisons did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). Among the observation scores, the scores of the experimental group in the sterile operation specification, the patient's safety consciousness, and the operation process continuity were always higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05). The results of mentor evaluation and student reflection indicated that the experimental group based on initial SIMROID robot training followed by peer discussion was superior to the control group in skills mastery, operational standardization, and strain capacity.

The teaching method based on initial SIMROID robot training followed by peer discussion is superior to the reversed sequence approach in improving the patient-clinician communication ability and emergency handling ability, and has better teaching effect and practical application value.