Telephone T.A.L.K.: a teaching/assessment tool for medical training

An instrument for teaching and assessing interpersonal communication skills of physicians on the telephone was developed. A conceptual framework based on the acronym T.A.L.K. [Trust, Assert, Listen and K.I.S.S. (Know, Inquire, Solve, and Stroke)] was used for organizing 22 specific behaviors. Faculty gave feedback to residents using T.A.L.K. guidelines while listening to taped telephone calls of the residents T.A.L.K.ing with patients. A five-point scale enables the instrument to be used for skill assessment and program evaluation.