Thiruganahalli Shivaraju Padmanabha, Manchukonda Ravi Shankar, Lokanathan Tejaswi H, Kshamaa Haradanahalli G
Pharmacology, PES University Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Bengaluru, IND.
Pharmacology, Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, Mandya, IND.
Cureus. 2024 Sep 9;16(9):e69013. doi: 10.7759/cureus.69013. eCollection 2024 Sep.
Background and objectives The quality of doctor-patient communication plays a crucial role in determining positive medical outcomes. Medical educators may be able to develop effective programs to orient the students toward learning communication skills with the aid of assessment of the attitude of medical students toward such learning. Recently, the National Medical Commission's updated syllabus strongly emphasized on the value of training in prescription communication skills (PCS), in pharmacology. Our study utilizes the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) to explore medical students' attitudes toward learning PCS in a private medical college, aiming to address the dearth of data in the Indian context. Methodology This cross-sectional study assessed the attitudes of 131 second-year medical students at Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences toward PCS training. Validated, 26-item CSAS was used to measure their attitudes which include 13 items of Positive Attitude Scale (PAS) and 13 items of Negative Attitude Scale (NAS), and data analysis was conducted using independent t-tests to explore potential associations based on socio-demographic factors. Results The study scale showed an acceptable internal consistency of 0.71 (Cronbach's alpha) with 0.92 and 0.76 for PAS and NAS, respectively. The overall mean PAS score and NAS score were 54.2±6.9 and 34.7±6.3, respectively, indicating that the majority of students recognized the significance of communication skills for their future medical practice. Male students had significantly lower PAS scores (52.1±7.4) compared to female students (55±6.6) (p=0.02). Students with a rural background had significantly higher PAS scores (56.2±6.1) (p=0.01) compared to those with an urban background (53.2±9.8). No significant association was seen with demographic parameters like schooling background, presence of doctors in the family, and mother tongue they spoke. Conclusion The study revealed that second-year medical students had a strong inclination toward learning PCS. Therefore, greater emphasis should be placed on providing adequate training in PCS to the students to ensure effective doctor-patient interactions.
背景与目的 医患沟通质量在决定积极的医疗结果方面起着关键作用。医学教育工作者或许能够借助对医学生对这类学习的态度评估，制定有效的项目，引导学生学习沟通技巧。最近，国家医学委员会更新的教学大纲强烈强调了药理学中处方沟通技巧（PCS）培训的价值。我们的研究利用沟通技巧态度量表（CSAS）来探究一所私立医学院校的医学生对学习PCS的态度，旨在填补印度背景下的数据空白。
方法 这项横断面研究评估了阿迪春查纳吉里医学科学研究所131名二年级医学生对PCS培训的态度。使用经过验证的26项CSAS来衡量他们的态度，其中包括13项积极态度量表（PAS）和13项消极态度量表（NAS），并使用独立t检验进行数据分析，以探究基于社会人口统计学因素的潜在关联。
结果 研究量表显示出可接受的内部一致性，Cronbach's α系数为0.71，其中PAS和NAS的系数分别为0.92和0.76。PAS总分和NAS总分的平均值分别为54.2±6.9和34.7±6.3，这表明大多数学生认识到沟通技巧对其未来医疗实践的重要性。与女生（55±6.6）相比，男生的PAS得分显著更低（52.1±7.4）（p = 0.02）。与城市背景的学生（53.2±9.8）相比，农村背景的学生PAS得分显著更高（56.2±6.1）（p = 0.01）。未发现与教育背景、家庭中是否有医生以及所讲母语等人口统计学参数存在显著关联。
结论 研究表明，二年级医学生对学习PCS有强烈的倾向。因此，应更加重视为学生提供足够的PCS培训，以确保有效的医患互动。
