Exploring medical residents' perceived need for negotiation skills training.

OBJECTIVES: This study explores the optimal focus for negotiation skills development training by investigating how often medical residents negotiate in practice, and how they perceive the effectiveness of their negotiation capabilities. METHODS: An exploratory study was performed using a questionnaire regarding the medical residents' working environment, negotiation frequency, knowledge and skills using a 5-point Likert scale, multiple choice questions and open questions. Exploratory factor analysis with principal component analysis, varimax rotation, reliability analysis, and content analysis were used to reduce the number of variables. Descriptive and interferential statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: We analyzed the responses of 60 medical residents. The findings showed that the perceived development of their negotiation knowledge (M=3.06, SD=0.83) was less than their negotiation skills (M=3.69, SD=0.47). Their attitude during negotiations, especially females, differed substantially in the interactions with nurses than with their supervisors. Medical residents with more working experience, better negotiation skills or who worked in hierarchical environments negotiated more frequently with their supervisors. Medical residents with better collaboration skills and negotiation knowledge demonstrated better negotiation skills. CONCLUSIONS: This study underlines medical residents' need for negotiation training. In addition to the basic negotiation knowledge and skills, training programs in negotiation should focus on the medical residents' awareness of their attitudes during negotiations, combining the assertiveness shown in interactions with supervisors with the empathy and emotional engagement present in interactions with nurses.  Furthermore, attention should be paid to the influence of the environmental hierarchy on negotiation skill development.

Can case-based discussions be used for leadership development in medical education? - an exploratory inquiry.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. BACKGROUND: The organization and funding of health care delivery are undergoing rapid change. As a result, the need for effective and context relevant educational methods to teach physicians leadership skills is growing. The case-based discussion has been proven to be effective in teaching leadership skills. Therefore, we decided to explore the potential value of its application in leadership training programs for residents. SUMMARY: We performed a qualitative survey to investigate the views of residents and professionals on the use of case-based discussion for leadership skills development during residency training. The Results showed that there were differences in the quality and methods of teaching amongst teachers in different disciplines. More interactive educational strategies were recommended such as case-based discussion and practice-based education during protected teaching slots. Our findings reflected the challenges associated with finding the perfect moment to initiate formal leadership education in postgraduate medical education. CONCLUSION: The case-based discussion is a potentially helpful method to teach residents leadership skills. In addition, establishing trust between stakeholders in the health system should be a focus of any leadership course. Still, determining the perfect timing to initiate leadership training during residency remains difficult.