A Team Approach in Communication Instruction: A Qualitative Description

Objective

To establish communication instructional goals and objectives (IGOs) adapted to a postgraduate surgical residency program.

Design

The curriculum that was tested in the current study is predicated on the following concepts: Leadership is a communication skill, not a medical skill; perception and interpretation are individual events and always will be imperfect; team is a relational-based concept, not a medical one; the concept of a perfect world is unrealistic and should not be the focus of any communication skills training; and change cannot occur locally if it is not nurtured globally.

Results

A communication curriculum designed to teach “affirming communication” as well as to focus on how acquiring the knowledge and skill associated with competent communication can result in positive organizational and clinical outcomes were tested using subjects from a rural trauma network. Statistically significant findings were observed regarding knowledge acquisition as well as perceptions and attitudes toward communication.

Conclusion

Any communication curriculum designed to educate needs to be grounded theoretically in both communication and medicine. Personnel from both disciplines need to be consulted in efforts to design a curriculum based in the social sciences yet applicable to surgery.

Key Words: interpersonal communication skills, communication competency, affirming communication, human error, skills, education, leadership

Competencies: Interpersonal and Communication Skills