Usefulness of a short training seminar on how to handle difficult patients in simulated education

Objective To evaluate a short-time simulation training seminar on how to handle difficult patients using professional simulated patients (SPs) such as actors. Participants Sixty-three second-year residents at Chiba University Hospital between 2015 and 2017 who only attended the seminar once. Intervention The participants were divided into small groups, each of which was assigned a supervisory doctor as facilitator. Those who were playing the doctor's role enacted a medical interview with an SP. After the interview, the facilitator, the SP, and the observing residents participated in a debriefing while watching a recorded video of the interview. Outcome measures Pre- and post-seminar questionnaires using a 7-point Likert scale (from 1: strongly disagree to 7: strongly agree) were used to examine the differences in "confidence in ability to handle difficult patients" and "learning motivation to handle difficult patients". The two items examined by both pre- and post-seminar questionnaires, were analyzed by a paired t-test. The residents were also surveyed on their satisfaction with the seminar, acquisition of new knowledge, and impressions and comments (free-text answers). Results The findings of the questionnaire showed a significant post-seminar increase in confidence (3.1±1.6 to 4.0±1.5 [p