The Effect of Counseling for Interpersonal Relationship Using Myers-Briggs Type Indicator / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: There are large differences between medical school curricula and those of other disciplines and graduate schools. Counseling program is designed to help participants understand their innate tendencies and have indirect experiences with the 16 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) types, which can lead to better interpersonal relationships. METHODS: The experimental and control groups, which were sampled randomly, comprised 34 students each. Each group was consisted of 17 females and 17 males. We implemented a counseling program (understanding oneself, understanding others) only to the experimental group, not the control group. The effects of the program were analyzed by t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The data were analyzed using SPSS 17.0 Window. RESULTS: For the Human relationship scale as a whole, the experimental group showed an increase from 3.641 to 3.846 (p=0.001). With regard to the subcategories, satisfaction increased from 3.705 to 4.022 (p=0.000), trust increased from 3.480 to 3.715 (p=0.015), intimacy increased from 3.833 to 4.019 (p=0.007), and openness increased from 3.435 to 3.700 (p=0.006). CONCLUSION: This program improved interpersonal relationships by helping new students understand each other, build a rapport, and understand their personalities well with open minded attitudes. Their relationships gradually became more intimate than awkward through this program.

Correlation of Communication Skills for Emotional Empathy and Academic Achievement on Clinical Performance Examinations / 한국의학교육

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the correlation between communication skills for emotional empathy and academic achievement on the Clinical Performance Examination (CPX). METHODS: One hundred twelve medical school students were observed to determine the extent to which they applied communication skills for emotional empathy (preparation stage: interview attitude, respect; rapport stage: encouragement, active listening, will for support; empathy stage: verbal expression empathy, nonverbal expression empathy, acceptance) to the CPX, as well as their level of understanding of these skills to calculate the Pearson r, which can be used to determine the correlation between communication skills and academic achievement (hematochezia, fatigue, abnormal menstruation, chest pain, alcohol problems). RESULTS: Male students had higher scores than females for all communicational skills except verbal expression empathy. Fourth-year students had statistically more significant correlations than third-year students with regard to the rapport stage 'active listening' and empathy stage 'nonverbal expression' and abnormal menstruation and chest pain. Correlations were also more significant for hematochezia in the preparation stage 'interview attitude,' rapport stage 'encouragement,' and empathy stages 'verbal and nonverbal expression' and 'acceptance.' The empathy stage 'nonverbal expressions' was more significant for fourth-year students with alcohol problems. Third-year students largely had negative correlations between emotional empathy communication skills and CPX academic achievement, especially between the preparation stage 'respect' and abnormal menstruation, and between the rapport stage 'encouragement' and hematochezia. CONCLUSION: There was a significant correlation between hematochezia, wherein MS students deliver bad news to patients, and communication skills for emotional empathy.