Efectos diferenciales de un taller de entrenamiento en habilidades comunicativas para estudiantes de Medicina.

Antecedents. Communication skills are critical to establish effective medical interactions, so the importance of teaching them while training of health professionals has become evident. Objective. The present study aimed to analyze the effect of a psycho-educational workshop for medical stu-dents, emphasizing the development of communication skills at five stages of regular medical interviews. Method. Data collected included participants' performance while interviewing simulated patients and writing what they would do with hypothetical cases. The study involved 17 GP-level program medical students in their fourth semester, 12 acted as simulated patients, and nine as supervisors. Participants completed three phases: pretest, treatment, and post-test. The initial and final phases involved applying two tests: Declarative and Active. Results. The largest gain scores occurred for treatment planning and closing stages, followed by general skills. The gain scores obtained in each group of skills in terms of being referred from the workshop contents, and being carried out, showed noticeable consistence. Discussion. Results suggest that teaching communicative skills can improve physicians' interaction with their patients and the care they provide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]