Lee Minjung, Ihm Jungjoon
Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
Office of Dental Education, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 Apr 21;21(1):225. doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02674-z.
Enhancing medical students' practice of patient-centered care is a goal of medical schools. In addition to exploring the demographic and academic factors of the students, it is necessary to identify other attitudes and perceptions that may influence the student's patient-centered attitude and inclination toward communication skill learning. This study aimed to assess patient-centered attitudes among dental students in Korea and identify the association between the students' characteristics and empathy, communication skill learning attitude, and patient-centered attitude.
Data were collected via a cross-sectional online survey, and 312 dental students were included in the analyses. The study participants completed the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS). Analyses were performed using independent samples' t-tests, hierarchical multi-variable regression, and ANOVA with a post-hoc Tukey test.
The students tend to be moderately patient-oriented toward the sharing subscale of PPOS score (M = 3.78, standard deviation [SD] = 0.54) and slightly more patient-centered toward the caring subscale of PPOS score (M = 4.41, SD = 0.52) of patient-centered attitudes. Being a female and a shorter academic period in dentistry were associated with attitudes toward patient-centered care. Empathy and positive attitude toward learning communication skills were also related to a patient-centered attitude, and among aspects of empathy, "empathic concern" had the greatest significant impact on patient-centered attitude.
Gender, academic period, empathy, and attitudes on learning communication skills were important influencing factors of patient-centered attitudes. Patient-centered attitude can and must be taught. Education programs should focus on enhancing empathy, emphasizing positive attitudes on learning communication skills, and conducting follow-up educational sessions to prevent students from becoming less patient-centered with an increase in duration of their academic period.
提高医学生以患者为中心的医疗实践能力是医学院校的目标。除了探究学生的人口统计学和学术因素外，有必要识别可能影响学生以患者为中心的态度及沟通技能学习倾向的其他态度和观念。本研究旨在评估韩国牙科学生以患者为中心的态度，并确定学生特征与同理心、沟通技能学习态度以及以患者为中心的态度之间的关联。
通过横断面在线调查收集数据，312名牙科学生纳入分析。研究参与者完成了患者-从业者导向量表（PPOS）、人际反应指数（IRI）和沟通技能态度量表（CSAS）。分析采用独立样本t检验、分层多变量回归以及带有事后Tukey检验的方差分析。
学生在以患者为中心态度的PPOS得分的分享子量表上倾向于中等程度以患者为导向（M = 3.78，标准差[SD] = 0.54），而在PPOS得分的关怀子量表上更倾向于以患者为中心（M = 4.41，SD = 0.52）。女性以及牙科学习时间较短与以患者为中心的医疗态度相关。同理心和对学习沟通技能的积极态度也与以患者为中心的态度相关，在同理心的各个方面中，“共情关注”对以患者为中心的态度影响最大。
性别、学习时间、同理心以及对学习沟通技能的态度是以患者为中心态度的重要影响因素。以患者为中心的态度能够且必须进行传授。教育项目应专注于增强同理心、强调对学习沟通技能的积极态度，并开展后续教育课程，以防止学生随着学习时间的增加而变得不那么以患者为中心。
