Medical students’ perspectives of patient-centered communication skills training during clinical education - Article Abstract - longitudinal mixed-methods survey study

Sep 29, 2026

Using repeated measures, the study evaluates third-year medical students’ perceptions of communication skills training during clinical rotations, emphasizing patient-centered communication dimensions most salient across subspecialties. In a longitudinal mixed-methods design, 273 students completed four survey phases. Results show rising confidence by year’s end, with the greatest perceived direct patient communication and satisfaction in emergency medicine, primary care, and family medicine, and lowest evaluations in general surgery. Key insights include healing relationships and information exchange as salient, while surgical rotations reinforce time management and efficiency.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

PEC Innovation 8 (2026) 100451 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect PEC Innovation journal [homepage:](homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pecinn)[ www.elsevier.com/locate/pecinn](homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/pecinn) | Medical students’ perspectives of patient-centered communication skills training during clinical education: A longitudinal mixed-methods survey study☆
Anna M. Kerr a,*, Mackenzie Atwell b, Samantha Galiffob, Andrew Fernandez c, Charee M. Thompson d
a Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA b Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dublin, OH, USA
c Doctor’s Hospital Residency Program, Grove City, OH, USA
d Department of Communication, Department of Biomedical and Translational Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | A R T I C L E I N F O | | A B S T R A C T | | | Keywords:
Communication skills training Undergraduate medical education Clinical education
Patient-centered communication Mixed-methods survey | | Objective: Using repeated measures, we examined third-year medical students’ perceptions of communication skills training (CST) during clinical rotations, focusing on dimensions of patient-centered communication most salient in each subspecialty.
Methods: 273 third-year students at a large Midwestern medical school completed a four-phase longitudinal mixed-methods survey.
Results: By the end of their third year, students reported more confidence in their communication skills, particularly question asking and answering. They reported the most direct communication with patients and the most communication training satisfaction during emergency medicine, primary care, and family medicine rotations. These evaluations were lowest during general surgery rotations. Fostering healing relationships and exchanging information were considered the most salient dimensions of patient-centered communication, particularly during primary care rotations. Conversely, during surgical rotations, time management and efficiency were heavily reinforced. Unsuccessful interactions with patients were often attributed to incompatible goals, expectancy violations, unpredictable interactions, and time constraints.
Conclusion: Students would benefit from CST related to advanced patient-centered communication skills such as adapting to challenging interactions and remaining patient-centered within clinical time constraints. Future research can use these results to develop communication curricula that is discipline-specific, focuses on multiple dimensions of patient-centered communication, and reinforces the behaviors most salient during students’current or upcoming clinical tasks.
Innovation: This study extends previous work by focusing on student-centered and discipline-specific aspects of CST. Centering the behaviors students consider most relevant is a novel approach to medical education that can increase students’ attitudes toward the value of communication skills training, make them more confident, and improve care for their future patients. | | 1. Introduction Patient-centered communication is a fundamental clinical skill for physicians and other healthcare professionals. [1] Effective communication is associated with outcomes including increased patient satisfaction, trust, access, and self-management, and reduced pain and suffering. [2] Consequently, communication skills training has received increasing attention over the last two decades. For example, the term“communication” yields over 1000 results in MedEdPortal, the American Association of Medical Colleges’ online journal of teaching and ☆ This article is part of a Special issue entitled: ‘Innovating Medical Education’ published in PEC Innovation. * Corresponding author at: Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Wa

FAQs

What communication skills training dimensions did the study emphasize across subspecialties?

The study focused on patient-centered communication dimensions most salient in each subspecialty, including healing relationships, exchanging information, and factors like time management and efficiency reinforced in surgical rotations.

How was the study conducted and who participated?

A longitudinal mixed-methods survey design used repeated measures. The sample included 273 third-year medical students who completed a four-phase survey during clinical education.

What were the main findings about students’ confidence and satisfaction?

By the end of third year, students reported more confidence, especially in question asking and answering. Satisfaction and direct patient communication ratings were highest in emergency medicine, primary care, and family medicine, and lowest in general surgery.

Sep 29, 2026

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