[A video based training in communication skills for physicians]. / Videogestütztes Training in Gesprächsführung für Arzte.

The aim of an "intensive training course in communication skills for physicians" is to train the perception of behaviour and of emotions in the doctor-patient communication. Core elements of the training are role plays on topics perceived as difficult and brought in by participants. From the group discussions arises a rich array of observations. The identical reproduction of a situation in time and space by means of video permits a variety of ways to check the perception of a situation and the communication skills. The approach is illustrated by an example taken from one exercise. 26 physicians participated in three courses. The repetition of the scene played at the first day is repeated with the same actors at the end of a training. Progress can be measured by comparing the two scenes. An evaluation by means of a structured questionnaire was carried out at the end of the training, after three and twelve months. The higher degree of self confidence on the part of the physicians could be seen from the analysis of the videos, from the comparison of the two videos and also from the questionnaires. Training by means of video takes time and energy. From the view of the authors and also from the participants this didactic approach to training is very effective. The training can be a building block towards a better care for patients.

[What do medical students learn in the elective course in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry?]. / Was lernen Medizinstudenten im Wahlfach Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie?

OBJECTIVE: A course in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy is optional for medical students within the Medical Curriculum Munich (MeCuMLMU). Aims of the course are to give insight into the specialty of child and adolescent psychiatry and to help students acquire basic skills. The focus is on psychopathology and on communication skills. METHOD: A course comprising 23 teaching units and limited to twelve students is taught over four days within one week twice per semester. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is introduced by means of case presentations of children in different age groups, each with externalizing, and internalizing disorders and with developmental delay, and by a clinical round in the teaching hospital affiliated to the University. Case examples of children are presented by video. In group discussions guided by a teacher students learn to formulate a psychopathological status. Role-plays derived from the clinical examples and video-based feed-back provides students with the opportunity to improve their communication skills. RESULTS: The course is evaluated by means of a written examination, in which a psychopathological status must be written down independently. Students and teachers evaluate the seminar in a structured way. Videotapes of the role-plays are analyzed by the teachers after the course. In a sub-sample, a follow-up evaluation was carried out six months later. CONCLUSIONS: The seminar offers an excellent opportunity to introduce medical students to child and adolescent psychiatry and to recruit and inspire a future generation of child and adolescent psychiatrists.

[Breaking bad news--a video-based training unit for medical students]. / Uberbringen schlechter Nachrichten--Videogestützte Trainingseinheit für Medizinstudenten.

OBJECTIVE: In 2002, the Medical Licensing Board prescribed fundamental changes in medical education. The reformed curriculum set its focus on bed-side teaching in small groups, problem-based courses, and training of communication skills. The previous curriculum did not include the teaching of communication skills to future physicians. Physicians thus felt unprepared for the doctor-patient communication. METHOD: Within the newly derived Medical Curriculum Munich (MeCuMLMU), the School of Medicine at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University of Munich implemented in 2005 a teaching unit named "Breaking Bad News" in order to train the students' communication skills. Its main elements are videotaped role-plays and the subsequent video-based analyses. In the role-plays, students experience the parts of a physician and a couple of parents. The task of the physician is to break the news of a severe condition to the parents of a child. The teaching units are held by members of the department of child psychiatry together with fifteen members of the department of paediatrics who had been instructed in analyzing videotaped role-plays. A manual was developed to facilitate a standardized approach. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The teaching units were evaluated by means of questionnaires filled in by students and tutors. The evaluation showed that "Breaking Bad News" was highly appreciated by both students and tutors. Our experience showed that this type of instruction is suitable to improve the communication skills of medical students, and it is feasible despite the relatively extensive technical and personnel resources needed.