Communicating wisely: teaching residents to communicate effectively with patients and caregivers about unnecessary tests.

ABSTRACT:

Background

With rising healthcare costs and a focus on quality, there is a growing need to promote resource stewardship in medical education. Physicians need to be able to communicate effectively with patients/caregivers seeking tests and treatments that are unnecessary. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an interactive workshop on residents' knowledge of resource stewardship and communication skills when counseling patients/caregivers about requests for unnecessary testing.

Methods

Participants were 83 Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residents at the University of Toronto in 2014-15. The evaluation compared resource stewardship knowledge and communication skills of 57 (69%) residents that attended the resource stewardship workshop to 26 residents (31%) who did not.

SUBMITTER: Mukerji G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5725805 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature