Teaching communication skills in rehabilitation medicine

Helping communication skills are one of the main requisites for rehabilitation professionals to help patients become independent and solve problems. Twenty-two rehabilitation professionals were given a 45-hour communication skills course using the Human Resources Development Model. Pretesting and posttesting were performed with videotapes and written indexes. Pretest scores showed an ineffective level of helping skills, while posttest scores showed significant improvement to mininally effective levels. Postcourse questionnaires indicated that the trainees believed that the experience would make a lasting change in their communication and helping skills and that this type of training was important in rehabilitation.