Communication skills training early in the medical curriculum: The UAE experience

The aim of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of a five-day communication skills training course held during the second year of a six-year medical program. The 26 students (10 male, 16 female) who completed the 1994 course were videotaped interviewing matched simulated patients before and after training. Communication experts blindly rated the film segments in terms of global performance and six specified component interview skills using a 10-point scale (0 'skill not used', 1 'poor', 5 'pass' [skill acceptable for a graduate doctor], 9 'excellent'). All facets were significantly improved after training (t, p < 0.05). Judges were more often concordant (rs, p < 0.05) when rating pre-training performances. Ability to establish rapport was the best predictor of skill in other components. Neither pre-training performance, English grade nor overall academic performance for the year was predictive of post-training performance.