Improving interviewing techniques through the bug-in-the-ear

The author describes a simple, efficient and inexpensive tool to improve and accelerate the teaching of interviewing techniques. There are major advantages and some shortcomings to this method. Both are reviewed along with a survey carried out to gauge the experiences of psychiatric residency training programs across the continent with the "bug-in-the-ear". The author discusses the implications for residents, supervisors and patients and offers suggestions how to make this approach more available to non-using centers.