Teaching residents mental health care.

OBJECTIVE: We tested the hypothesis that trained medical faculty can train residents effectively in a mental health care model. METHODS: After the authors trained medical faculty intensively for 15 months in primary care mental health, the newly trained faculty taught medical residents intensively. Residents were evaluated pre- and post-residency and compared to non-equivalent control residents in another city. Using ANOVA, the primary endpoint was residents' use of a mental health care model with simulated patients. Secondary endpoints were residents' skills using models for patient-centered interviewing and for informing and motivating patients. RESULTS: For the mental health care model, there was a significant interaction between study site and time (F = 33.51, p < .001, Eta2 = .34); mean pre-test and post-test control group scores were 8.15 and 8.79, respectively, compared to 7.44 and 15.0 for the intervention group. Findings were similarly positive for models of patient-centered interviewing and informing and motivating. CONCLUSIONS: Training medical faculty to teach residents a mental health care model offers a new educational approach to the widespread problem of poor mental health care. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: While the models tested here can provide guidance in conducting mental health care, further evaluation of the train-the-trainer program for preparing residents is needed.

A questionnaire identifying four key components of patient satisfaction with physician communication.

OBJECTIVE: To improve efficiency and retain the 4 factors of a reliable, valid interview satisfaction questionnaire (ISQ). METHOD: 105 residents conducted 301 patient-centered interviews with 10 simulated patients (SP). SPs portrayed three scenarios for each resident and completed the ISQ and the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) after each. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the ISQ and CAT determined which items had >0.5 factor loadings and <0.1 error, criteria for retaining items in a shortened scale. RESULTS: After the CFA, 13 items were deleted resulting in a 12-item scale (RMSE=0.06) that confirmed the initial 4 factor structure of satisfaction with: open-endedness, empathy, confidence in the resident, and general. Scale reliability of each factor was high (Cronbach's alpha ranged from .74 to .93). Demonstrating concurrent validity, all four factors of the ISQ correlated highly with the one-factor CAT (r>.7, p<.001), and the second order unidimensional ISQ scale also correlated highly with the CAT (r=.83, p<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The ISQ is an efficient, reliable, and valid instrument that uniquely deconstructs satisfaction with the patient-physician interaction into 4 key components. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The 4 components provide a means for better understanding poor satisfaction results.

Is Statin Use Associated With Tendon Rupture? A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

Previous case reports and small studies have suggested that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase inhibitors (HMG-CoA-Is) may increase the risk of tendon rupture. We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort evaluation to better assess this relationship. From approximately 800,000 enrollees of a private insurance database, those who were aged ≤64 years with at least 1 year of continuous enrollment were selected. Exposure was defined as initiation of HMG-CoA-I after the beginning of the study period. Each exposed person was matched with 2 controls of similar age and gender. Baseline characteristics, including known risk factors for tendon rupture, were compared between exposed and control cohorts with fidelity to the study's matched design. After adjusting for differences in follow-up and baseline characteristics, incidence rate ratios for tendon rupture was assessed in HMG-CoA-I users and nonusers. A total of 34,749 exposed patients were matched with 69,498 controls. There was no difference in the occurrence of tendon ruptures in HMG-CoA-I users versus nonusers. The results remained unchanged after adjustment for age and gender. In conclusion, this population-based retrospective cohort evaluation suggests that use of HMG-CoA-Is as a group are not associated with tendon rupture.

Addressing mental health issues in primary care: an initial curriculum for medical residents.

OBJECTIVE: Many express concern that modern medicine fails to provide adequate psychosocial and mental health care. Our educational system has not trained the primary care providers who care for most of these patients. Our objective here is to propose a quantum change: prepare residents and students during all years of training so that they are as effective in treating psychosocial and mental health issues as they are medical problems. METHOD: We operationalize this objective, following Kern, by developing an intensive 3-year curriculum in psychosocial and mental health care for medical residents based on models with a strong evidence-base. RESULTS: We report an intensive curriculum that can guide others with similar training interests and also initiate the conversation about how best to prepare residency graduates to provide effective mental health and psychosocial care. CONCLUSION: Identifying specific curricula informs education policy-makers of the specific requirements they will need to meet if psychosocial and mental health training are to improve. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Training residents in mental health will lead to improved care for this very prevalent primary care population.

An evidence-based patient-centered method makes the biopsychosocial model scientific.

OBJECTIVE: To review the scientific status of the biopsychosocial (BPS) model and to propose a way to improve it. DISCUSSION: Engel's BPS model added patients' psychological and social health concerns to the highly successful biomedical model. He proposed that the BPS model could make medicine more scientific, but its use in education, clinical care, and, especially, research remains minimal. Many aver correctly that the present model cannot be defined in a consistent way for the individual patient, making it untestable and non-scientific. This stems from not obtaining relevant BPS data systematically, where one interviewer obtains the same information another would. Recent research by two of the authors has produced similar patient-centered interviewing methods that are repeatable and elicit just the relevant patient information needed to define the model at each visit. We propose that the field adopt these evidence-based methods as the standard for identifying the BPS model. CONCLUSION: Identifying a scientific BPS model in each patient with an agreed-upon, evidence-based patient-centered interviewing method can produce a quantum leap ahead in both research and teaching. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: A scientific BPS model can give us more confidence in being humanistic. In research, we can conduct more rigorous studies to inform better practices.

Nurse-led group visits support shared decision making in stable coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a nurse-led educational group visit (GV) as part of a multifaceted intervention, shared decision making (SDM) guidance reminders in practice, to prompt SDM in primary care about angiography in stable coronary artery disease. METHODS: A process evaluation designed to test the feasibility of a nurse-led educational GV was conducted. The evaluation used retrospective pre-post surveys. RESULTS: Nurse-led GV was well received and logistically feasible. Patients gained knowledge of options and confidence in doing SDM with providers. However, recruitment at the point of the educational GV was below the threshold of 12 patients per group that would support sustaining this approach in fee-for-service clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: Nurse-led GV can produce gains in knowledge and confidence required for patients to participate in SDM. However, the constraints of time and personnel required to bring groups of patients together require new approaches. Future development will focus on adapting the content of the GV for SDM as an electronic teaching module associated with integrated personal health records.

Patient-centered interviewing is associated with decreased responses to painful stimuli: an initial fMRI study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) changes associated with a patient-centered interview (PCI) and a positive provider-patient relationship (PPR). METHODS: Nine female patients participated, five randomly selected to undergo a replicable, evidence-based PCI, the other four receiving standard clinician-centered interviews (CCI). To verify that PCI differed from CCI, we rated the interviews and administered a patient satisfaction with the provider-patient relationship (PPR) questionnaire. Patients were then scanned as they received painful stimulation while viewing pictures of the interviewing doctor and control images (unknown doctor). RESULTS: Interview ratings and questionnaire results confirmed that PCIs and CCIs were performed as planned and PCIs led to a much more positive PPR. We found significantly reduced pain-related neural activation in the left anterior insula region in the PCI group when the interviewing doctor's picture was shown. CONCLUSION: This study identifies an association between a PCI that produced a positive PPR and reduced pain-related neural responses in the anterior insula. This is an initial step in understanding the neural underpinnings of a PCI. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: If confirmed, our results indicate one neurobiological underpinning of an effective PCI, providing an additional scientific rationale for its use clinically.

Interventions for providers to promote a patient-centred approach in clinical consultations.

BACKGROUND: Communication problems in health care may arise as a result of healthcare providers focusing on diseases and their management, rather than people, their lives and their health problems. Patient-centred approaches to care delivery in the patient encounter are increasingly advocated by consumers and clinicians and incorporated into training for healthcare providers. However, the impact of these interventions directly on clinical encounters and indirectly on patient satisfaction, healthcare behaviour and health status has not been adequately evaluated. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of interventions for healthcare providers that aim to promote patient-centred care (PCC) approaches in clinical consultations. SEARCH METHODS: For this update, we searched: MEDLINE (OvidSP), EMBASE (OvidSP), PsycINFO (OvidSP), and CINAHL (EbscoHOST) from January 2000 to June 2010. The earlier version of this review searched MEDLINE (1966 to December 1999), EMBASE (1985 to December 1999), PsycLIT (1987 to December 1999), CINAHL (1982 to December 1999) and HEALTH STAR (1975 to December 1999). We searched the bibliographies of studies assessed for inclusion and contacted study authors to identify other relevant studies. Any study authors who were contacted for further information on their studies were also asked if they were aware of any other published or ongoing studies that would meet our inclusion criteria. SELECTION CRITERIA: In the original review, study designs included randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, controlled before and after studies, and interrupted time series studies of interventions for healthcare providers that promote patient-centred care in clinical consultations. In the present update, we were able to limit the studies to randomized controlled trials, thus limiting the likelihood of sampling error. This is especially important because the providers who volunteer for studies of PCC methods are likely to be different from the general population of providers. Patient-centred care was defined as a philosophy of care that encourages: (a) shared control of the consultation, decisions about interventions or management of the health problems with the patient, and/or (b) a focus in the consultation on the patient as a whole person who has individual preferences situated within social contexts (in contrast to a focus in the consultation on a body part or disease). Within our definition, shared treatment decision-making was a sufficient indicator of PCC. The participants were healthcare providers, including those in training. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We classified interventions by whether they focused only on training providers or on training providers and patients, with and without condition-specific educational materials. We grouped outcome data from the studies to evaluate both direct effects on patient encounters (consultation process variables) and effects on patient outcomes (satisfaction, healthcare behaviour change, health status). We pooled results of RCTs using standardized mean difference (SMD) and relative risks (RR) applying a fixed-effect model. MAIN RESULTS: Forty-three randomized trials met the inclusion criteria, of which 29 are new in this update. In most of the studies, training interventions were directed at primary care physicians (general practitioners, internists, paediatricians or family doctors) or nurses practising in community or hospital outpatient settings. Some studies trained specialists. Patients were predominantly adults with general medical problems, though two studies included children with asthma. Descriptive and pooled analyses showed generally positive effects on consultation processes on a range of measures relating to clarifying patients' concerns and beliefs; communicating about treatment options; levels of empathy; and patients' perception of providers' attentiveness to them and their concerns as well as their diseases. A new finding for this update is that short-term training (less than 10 hours) is as successful as longer training.The analyses showed mixed results on satisfaction, behaviour and health status. Studies using complex interventions that focused on providers and patients with condition-specific materials generally showed benefit in health behaviour and satisfaction, as well as consultation processes, with mixed effects on health status. Pooled analysis of the fewer than half of included studies with adequate data suggests moderate beneficial effects from interventions on the consultation process; and mixed effects on behaviour and patient satisfaction, with small positive effects on health status. Risk of bias varied across studies. Studies that focused only on provider behaviour frequently did not collect data on patient outcomes, limiting the conclusions that can be drawn about the relative effect of intervention focus on providers compared with providers and patients. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to promote patient-centred care within clinical consultations are effective across studies in transferring patient-centred skills to providers. However the effects on patient satisfaction, health behaviour and health status are mixed. There is some indication that complex interventions directed at providers and patients that include condition-specific educational materials have beneficial effects on health behaviour and health status, outcomes not assessed in studies reviewed previously. The latter conclusion is tentative at this time and requires more data. The heterogeneity of outcomes, and the use of single item consultation and health behaviour measures limit the strength of the conclusions.

Shared Decision Making Guidance Reminders in Practice (SDM-GRIP).

OBJECTIVE: Develop a system of practice tools and procedures to prompt shared decision making in primary care. SDM-GRIP (Shared Decision Making Guidance Reminders in Practice) was developed for suspected stable coronary artery disease (CAD), prior to the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) decision. METHODS: Program evaluation of SDM-GRIP components: Grand Rounds, provider training (communication skills and clinical evidence), decision aid (DA), patient group visit, encounter decision guide (EDG), SDM provider visit. RESULTS: Participation-Physician training=73% (21/29); patient group visits=25% of patients with diagnosis of CAD contacted (43/168). SDM visits=16% (27/168). Among SDM visit pairs, 82% of responding providers reported using the EDG in SDM encounters. Patients valued the SDM-GRIP program, and wanted to discuss comparative effectiveness information with a cardiologist. SDM visits were routinely reimbursed. CONCLUSION: Program elements were well received and logistically feasible. However, recruitment to an extra educational group visit was low. Future implementation will move SDM-GRIP to the point of routine ordering of non-emergent stress tests to retain pre-decision timing of PCI and to improve coordination of care, with SDM tools available across primary care and cardiology. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Guidance prompts and provider training appear feasible. Implementation at stress testing requires further investigation.

Behaviorally defined patient-centered communication--a narrative review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Touted by some as reflecting a better medical model and cited by the influential IOM report in 2000 as one of the six domains of quality care, patient-centered medicine has yet to fully establish its scientific attributes or to become mainstream. One proposed reason is failure to behaviorally define what the term 'patient-centered' actually means. OBJECTIVES: (1) To identify patient-centered articles among all reported randomized controlled trials (RCT); (2) to identify those with specific behaviorally defined interventions; (3) to identify commonalities among the behavioral definitions; and (4) to evaluate the relationship of the well-defined RCTs to patient outcomes. DATA SOURCES: Medline from April 2010 to 1975. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, PARTICIPANTS, AND INTERVENTIONS: RCTs having any specific, behaviorally defined patient-centered skill(s) in an intervention with some patient outcome involving real adult patients and providers in real clinical situations. APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: Critical appraisal via narrative review. RESULTS: The prevalence of any mention of patient-centeredness among 327,219 RCTs was 0.50% (1,475 studies), from which we identified only 13 studies (0.90%) where there were behaviorally-defined patient-centered skills in an intervention. Although there were too few studies to make clinical recommendations, we identified common features of the behavioral definitions used: all went well beyond identifying individual skills. Rather, skills were grouped, prioritized, and sequenced by virtually all, often describing a stepwise patient-centered approach to, variously, gather data, address emotions, or inform and motivate. LIMITATIONS: The inherent subjectivity of our method for identifying behaviorally-defined studies could under- or over-represent truly replicable such studies considerably. Also, studies were few and very heterogeneous with interventions of widely differing intensity and foci. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: RCTs identified as patient-centered were rare, and <1% of these were behaviorally defined and, therefore, possibly replicable. There were many common behavioral definitions in the studies reported, and these can guide us in identifying agreed-upon patient-centered interventions, the immediate next-step in advancing the field.

Training residents and nurses to work as a patient-centered care team on a medical ward.

OBJECTIVE: To train medical residents and nurses to work together as a patient-centered care (PCC) team on a medical ward and test its feasibility, nurses' learning, and patient outcomes. METHOD: Working with administrative leadership, we consolidated residents' patients on one 32-bed ward. Already training residents in an evidence-based patient-centered method, we now trained 5 nurse leaders similarly, and they then trained all staff nurses. A national consultant visited twice. Specific team-building activities for nurses and residents fostered ward interactions. We used a retrospective pre/post/6-month post-design to evaluate nurses' knowledge and self-efficacy of patient-centered skills. Patients were assigned non-randomly to our unit or comparison units from our emergency room; using a post-test only design, the primary endpoint was patient satisfaction. RESULTS: 28 trained nurses showed improvement in knowledge (p=0.02) and self-efficacy (p=0.001). 81 treatment patients showed no improvement in satisfaction (p=0.44). CONCLUSION: Training nurses in patient-centered practices were effective. Unique in this country, we also trained nurses and residents together as a PCC team on a medical ward and showed it was feasible and well accepted. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: We provide a template for team training and urge that others explore this important new area and contribute to its further development.

In their own words: qualitative study of high-utilising primary care patients with medically unexplained symptoms.

BACKGROUND: High utilising primary care patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) often frustrate their primary care providers. Studies that elucidate the attitudes of these patients may help to increase understanding and improve confidence of clinicians who care for them. The objective of this study was to describe and analyze perceptions and lived experiences of high utilising primary care patients with MUS. METHODS: A purposive sample of 19 high utilising primary care patients for whom at least 50% (69.6% in this sample) of visits for two years could not be explained medically, were encouraged to talk spontaneously about themselves and answer semi-structured questions. Verbatim transcripts of interviews were analyzed using an iterative consensus building process. RESULTS: Patients with MUS almost universally described current and/or past family dysfunction and were subjected to excessive testing and ineffective empirical treatments. Three distinct groups emerged from the data. 1) Some patients, who had achieved a significant degree of psychological insight and had success in life, primarily sought explanations for their symptoms. 2) Patients who had less psychological insight were more disabled by their symptoms and felt strongly entitled to be excused from normal social obligations. Typically, these patients primarily sought symptom relief, legitimization, and support. 3) Patients who expressed worry about missed diagnoses demanded excessive care and complained when their demands were resisted. CONCLUSION: High utilising primary care patients are a heterogeneous group with similar experiences and different perceptions, behaviours and needs. Recognizing these differences may be critical to effective treatment and reduction in utilisation.

Teaching medical interviewing to patients: the other side of the encounter.

OBJECTIVES: This paper describes the development and pilot testing of a communication skills curriculum based on medical student curriculum and modified for use with patients. METHODS: Six key concepts from our introductory medical education communication skills curriculum were identified. The core knowledge and skills related to these concepts were reorganized into six modules, including presentation materials, handouts and active learning components. The curriculum was pilot tested with three independent groups of non-medical participants, representing a broad cross-section of the community. RESULTS: Participants reported a high level of satisfaction; over 80% found the program helpful for learning new information and skills, and 92% for working with their physicians. Over 90% would recommend the program to others. Participant self-assessments revealed the greatest change in knowledge of medical interviewing. Skill changes were greatest in expressing emotion and efficiently telling the medical story. The pilot tests also highlighted the importance of other issues related to recruitment and health literacy. CONCLUSIONS: This project demonstrates that key concepts underlying doctor-patient communications can be simplified and repackaged for use from the patient's perspective. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Similar curricula can empower patients from all walks of life to better communicate with their health care providers and enhance their healthcare experience.

Analysis of limited resuscitations in patients suffering in-hospital cardiac arrest.

BACKGROUND: Although clinicians are expected to help patients make decisions about end-of-life care, there is insufficient data to help guide patient preferences. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of patients who undergo 'limited code' and compare survival to discharge with those who undergo maximum resuscitative efforts ('full code'). METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of all adult in-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCA) at a tertiary care teaching hospital from January 1999 to December 2003 to compare survival in patients with limited code to survival in patients with a full code. We collected data on demographic and clinical variables known to influence survival in IHCA. Logistic regression was used to assess the association of code status with subsequent survival through the code and to hospital discharge after adjusting for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Of the 309 patients having IHCA, there were 17 (5.5%) patients with limited code status and 292 (94.5%) with full code status. Among full code patients, 171 (58.6%) survived the code compared to five patients (29.4%) who had a limited code (p=0.023). After adjusting for demographic variables and pre-arrest co-morbidities, patients with full code status compared to limited code status had an odds ratio for return of spontaneous circulation of 3.69 (95% CI: 1.13-14.34). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who opt for limited code have a significantly lower probability of survival compared to patients who choose full code. Patients who choose limited code should be informed of the likely negative outcome as compared to full resuscitation.

Association between statin therapy and tendon rupture: a case-control study.

Although case reports of a possible association between statin therapy and tendon rupture have been published, no analytical studies exploring this relationship have been reported. We conducted a case-control study using the electronic medical records at Michigan State University from 2002 to 2007 to assess whether statin use is a risk factor for tendon rupture. We compared exposure to statins in 93 cases of tendon rupture with similar exposure in 279 sex- and age-matched controls. Exposure to statins was defined as documentation in the electronic medical record of statin use in the 12 months preceding tendon rupture. For controls, the exposure period was defined as 1 year preceding the last office visit. We used a multivariate logistic regression model, controlling for diabetes, renal disease, rheumatologic disease, and steroid use, to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (ORs). There was no significant difference between cases and controls in the rates of statin use, with either univariate [OR = 1.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.54-1.84] or multivariate analyses (OR = 1.10, 95% CI 0.57-2.13). Based on predetermined subgroup analyses, statin exposure was found to be a significant risk factor for tendon rupture in women (adjusted OR = 3.76, 95% CI 1.11-12.75) but not in men (adjusted OR = 0.66, 95% CI 0.29-1.51). In conclusion, we found no overall association between statin use and tendon rupture, but subgroup analysis suggested that women with tendon rupture were more likely to be on statins.

A case of emphysematous cystitis in cystic fibrosis.

It is postulated that gas-forming organisms ferment glucose within the wall of the urinary bladder leading to air collection; emphysematous cystitis occurs due to the fermentation of glucose by these organisms. Emphysematous cystitis is a rare condition usually seen in patients who are either diabetic or have other immunosuppressive diseases, or have had disruption of the bladder wall due to trauma or surgical instrumentation. We present a case of emphysematous cystitis in a patient with cystic fibrosis without any other underlying immunosuppressive conditions which, to our knowledge, is the first reported case. The patient presented with abdominal pain and was diagnosed with abdominal computed tomography examination. She was managed conservatively with a favorable outcome.

Classification and diagnosis of patients with medically unexplained symptoms.

Patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) have little or no demonstrable disease explanation for the symptoms, and comorbid psychiatric disorders are frequent. Although common, costly, distressed, and often receiving ill-advised testing and treatments, most MUS patients go unrecognized, which precludes effective treatment. To enhance recognition, we present an emerging perspective that envisions a unitary classification for the entire spectrum of MUS where this diagnosis comprises severity, duration, and comorbidity. We then present a specific approach for making the diagnosis at each level of severity. Although our disease-based diagnosis system dictates excluding organic disease to diagnose MUS, much exclusion can occur clinically without recourse to laboratory or consultative evaluation because the majority of patients are mild. Only the less common, "difficult" patients with moderate and severe MUS require investigation to exclude organic diseases. By explicitly diagnosing and labeling all severity levels of MUS, we propose that this diagnostic approach cannot only facilitate effective treatment but also reduce the cost and morbidity from unnecessary interventions.

Primary care clinicians treat patients with medically unexplained symptoms: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: There is no proven primary care treatment for patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). We hypothesized that a long-term, multidimensional intervention by primary care providers would improve MUS patients' mental health. DESIGN: Clinical trial. SETTING: HMO in Lansing, MI. PARTICIPANTS: Patients from 18 to 65 years old with 2 consecutive years of high utilization were identified as having MUS by a reliable chart rating procedure; 206 subjects were randomized and 200 completed the study. INTERVENTION: From May 2000 to January 2003, 4 primary care clinicians deployed a 12-month intervention consisting of cognitive-behavioral, pharmacological, and other treatment modalities. A behaviorally defined patient-centered method was used by clinicians to facilitate this treatment and the provider-patient relationship. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The primary endpoint was an improvement from baseline to 12 months of 4 or more points on the Mental Component Summary of the SF-36. RESULTS: Two hundred patients averaged 13.6 visits for the year preceding study. The average age was 47.7 years and 79.1% were females. Using intent to treat, 48 treatment and 34 control patients improved (odds ratio [OR]=1.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08 to 3.40; P=.02). The relative benefit (relative "risk" for improving) was 1.47 (CI: 1.05 to 2.07), and the number needed to treat was 6.4 (95% CI: 0.89 to 11.89). The following baseline measures predicted improvement: severe mental dysfunction (P<.001), severe body pain (P=.039), nonsevere physical dysfunction (P=.003), and at least 16 years of education (P=.022); c-statistic=0.75. CONCLUSION: The first multidimensional intervention by primary care clinicians led to clinically significant improvement in MUS patients.

Teaching personal awareness.

Educators rarely consider the attitudes that determine whether a learner will use the clinical skills we teach. Nevertheless, many learners and practitioners exhibit negative attitudes that can impede the use of patient-centered skills, leading to an isolated focus upon disease and impairing the provider-patient relationship. The problem is compounded because these attitudes often are incompletely recognized by learners and therefore are difficult to change without help. We present a research-based method for teaching personal awareness of unrecognized and often harmful attitudes. We propose that primary care clinicians without mental health training can follow this method to teach students, residents, faculty, and practitioners. Such teachers/mentors need to possess an abiding interest in the personal dimension, patience with a slowly evolving process of awareness, and the ability to establish strong, ongoing relationships with learners. Personal awareness teaching may occur during instruction in basic interviewing skills but works best if systematically incorporated throughout training.