The effect of communication skills training by video feedback method on clinical skills of interns of Isfahan University of medical sciences compared to didactic methods

Background: Effective communication is essential to the practice of high-quality medicine. There are methodological challenges in communication skills training. This study was performed in order to assess the educational benefits of communication skills training by video feedback method versus traditional formats such as lectures on clinical skills. Methods: This study was performed in 2005–2006 at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Forty medical students were involved in this study. We had 20 medical students in each group. Both groups first participated in communication skills classes and then their communication skills were evaluated with an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE1). Then group 1 participated in a video feedback workshop and their communication skills were evaluated by OSCE2 two months after the course. The communication skills of group 2 were re-evaluated by OSCE2 after two months. The score of OSCE1 and OSCE2 of both groups were compared. Results were analysed using SPSS 11.5. Results: The mean score of communication skills in OSCE1 of both groups were compared and the results showed that there was no significant difference between the both groups ( p = 0.53). Group 1 had significantly higher communication skills scores in OSCE2 after the video feedback workshop compared to the communication skill scores of the group without intervention ( p = 00). The mean score of history taking, physical exam and diagnosis and treatment in OSCE1 and OSCE2 in the case group were compared by paired t-test and the results showed that there was significant difference ( p = 0.00). Conclusion: Our training intervention was effective in producing significant changes in medical students’ clinical competence as well as the students’ skills in history taking, physical exam and diagnosis and treatment. Video feedback was more effective than traditional didactic methods such as lectures. Repetition of feedback using videotaped performance may be useful to improve communication skills for medical interviews. Despite the potential difficulties, video recording remains a most valuable tool for communication skills training.