Evaluating telephone T.A.L.K.

A telephone communication instrument, Telephone T.A.L.K. (Trust, Assert, Listen, and K.I.S.S.--Know, Inquire, Solve, Stroke), was developed for a pediatric residency program for teaching and assessment purposes. Residents had call reviews with faculty as an intervention. Eight residents had pre-intervention calls and 3 call reviews. At post-intervention, Trust and Listening skills showed significant improvement and Assert and K.I.S.S. near significance. Ranking frequencies of items for calls of 30 residents indicated which items to select for future teaching.