Login to Access Video or Poster Abstract: MP51-07
Sources of Funding: None.

Introduction

Postgraduate medical education has historically focused on the acquisition of didactic knowledge and technical skills, with less overt emphasis on the development of interpersonal and communication skills. Recent emphasis on patient satisfaction and performance-based initiatives has made this third dimension of medical training increasingly relevant. To date, there have been no studies on how communication skills are taught or evaluated in surgical specialties, including urology. We undertook this study to describe the current state of communication skill teaching in ACGME-accredited urology training programs in the United States. _x000D_

Methods

We surveyed 126 urology training programs via email and follow up phone calls, asking for an assessment of attending and resident communication skills as well as a description of how communication skills were taught in each program, and whether communication skills were evaluated (formally or informally) during interviews of prospective residents.

Results

48 programs (38.1%) completed the survey. All program leaders characterized attending communication skills as at least "adequate," with most characterizing attendings as having "excellent" (52.2%) or "outstanding" (13.0%) communication skills. Most program leaders characterized residents as having "excellent" (50%) or "outstanding" (6.5%) communication skills, although 2.2% characterized residents as having "poor" communication skills. Only 10 (20.8%) programs had formal curricula to teach communication skills to residents. Resident observation of attendings (43/48=89.6%), faculty observation of residents (34/48=70.8%), and resident observation of other residents (29/48=60.4%) were cited as the most common ways for residents to learn communication skills. A minority of programs used dedicated didactic time (22/48=45.8%) or simulation (17/48=35.4%); formal feedback was provided to learners in only 5 (10.4%) programs. Prospective residents were evaluated on communication skills during the interview day either formally (6.4%) or informally (76.6%) by most programs._x000D_

Conclusions

The importance of good communication skills in urology residents is acknowledged by the high proportion of programs that assess interpersonal skills during the resident selection process. However, comprehensive formal communication skills training during urology residency is lacking. These findings may be helpful to urology program directors wishing to augment their contemporary approach to communication skills teaching for their residents. _x000D_

Funding

None.