Rachel Tang¹
Ashley Siau¹, Sarah Richardson¹, Conor Gilligan² and Nimrah Mujahid¹
1 University of Newcastle
2 EACH

During our Health Professional Education (HPE) Pathway in our final year of medical school, we explored the teaching and assessment methods of communications skills in Australia and internationally. We aim to identify features associated with effective communication skills teaching and assessment programs. Previous studies have identified the need for qualitative studies to better understand students’ perspectives on factors for valuable and effective communication skills learning and assessment (1-3). 

The importance of effective communication was emphasised during our medical school experience. Medical schools world-wide aim to provide future health professionals with communication skills needed when entering the workforce. To ensure these skills are adequately attained, appropriate assessment is crucial. Recognising that Australia’s patient populations differ to those internationally, we are interested in observing how communication skills are taught and assessed world-wide, and to identify any distinguishing features of effective programs. The HPE Pathways Program has been significant in allowing us to explore our research question – providing us opportunities to undertake international placements and foundational knowledge and skills in HPE. 

Efforts have been made to study different continents, enabling exploration of differing medical curricula and patient populations across the globe. A convenience sampling of four universities from Germany, Singapore, USA, and Australia was chosen. Each student will attend communication skills tutorials and, where possible, observe assessments at each institution. We will conduct informal interviews with tutors and gather curricula material. Information collected is then compared and analysed, identifying features deemed valuable in teaching and/or assessment. 

We seek participant input regarding their own programs for communication skills teaching and assessment to guide our analysis and take suggestions for methodological approaches to maximise the value of this project. Our discussion focuses on what we have learnt from the medical programs and sharing our perspectives on effective approaches to communication skills teaching and assessment. 

References (maximum three)