The teaching of communication skills in medical schools: an approach

The purpose of this work is to analyze the process of teaching/learning communication within the doctor-patient relationship during the undergraduate medical course, discussing the ideas of students and of coordinators regarding this process, and identifying how and when the curriculum takes this issue into account. Twelve graduates and nine course coordinators were interviewed. We learned that there is a great diversity of ideas on communication, especially a tendency to think of it as an instrumental skill for obtaining information and making oneself understood within medical procedures. The learning of communication takes place primarily in an implicit way within the education of physicians, being connected with certain disciplines, such as Semiology and Medical Psychology, or being imbued in the curriculum during the different moments of teaching and learning. The observation of attitudes and behaviors in the daily practice of teaching, whether by professors or other physicians in practice, notably during internship, is the main factor responsible for student learning of this skill. The results found in this research, given the relevance of communication in the exercise of medical practice, indicate that it is necessary to reassess this theme in connection with the pedagogical practices used to train future physicians.

medical education; communication; physician-patient relations; learning