Abstract
Patient communication courses are time-intensive, making incorporation into residency curricula challenging. Using a short video could be an efficient means to teach residents communication skills. We created a 4-min animated video focused on the “ask more and summarize technique”. Residents rotating on the inpatient oncology and palliative care service received a video link with a survey (S1) on the tool and its projected utility. A second survey (S2) was sent upon rotation completion to assess the utility of the technique. A 6-month follow up e-mail was sent to determine retention of skills. A total of 52/106 residents responded to S1 and 32/52 to S2. Median age was 28 years and 86% were PGY-1. On S1, 95% enjoyed the format, and 95% thought the narration was an effective learning tool and 90% that the animation was effective. A majority (87%) felt the tool would be useful. On comparing self-reported acquisition of skills for paired survey responses, there was a significant increase in asking more regarding patient questions (p = 0.04) but not summarizing back responses (p = 0.1). This tool was reported to be useful in a variety of settings including explaining prognoses, unrealistic patient expectations, upset patients, and patients with fear or anxiety. A 6-month follow up survey (n = 22) showed that almost all the respondents continued to report using the skills learned. A short video is a brief and effective tool that can be incorporated into a busy clinical curriculum to teach residents communication skills in the areas of cancer and palliative care.
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Appendices
Appendix 1. Animated video tool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udvSYZ1trKQ&t=5s
Appendix 2. Survey 1
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1.
Before doing the module, how often were finding out more information about questions patients were asking?
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Never
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Almost Never (~ 1–2 a month)
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Rarely (~ 1–2 times a week)
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Often (1–2 times a day)
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Very Often (3–5 times a day)
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Extremely often (5–10 times a day)
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Always (almost every patient encounter, every day)
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2.
Before doing the module, how often were you summarizing back to patient’s what you heard them say?
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Never
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Almost Never (~ 1–2 a month)
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Rarely (~ 1–2 times a week)
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Often (1–2 times a day)
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Very Often (3–5 times a day)
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Extremely often (5–10 times a day)
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Always (almost every patient encounter, every day)
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3.
After watching the module, how useful do you feel the information provided will be during the rest of your training?
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Not at all useful
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Of little Use
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Useful
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Somewhat Useful
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Very Useful
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4.
On your oncology/palliative rotation, how often do you think you will use the skills taught in today’s module?
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Never
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Almost Never (~ 1–2 a month)
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Rarely (~ 1–2 times a week)
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Often (1–2 times a day)
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Very Often (3–5 times a day)
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Extremely often (5–10 times a day)
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Always (almost every patient encounter, every day)
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5.
If you could make one major change to the module what would it be?
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6.
Age
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7.
Gender
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Male
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Female
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Other
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8.
Stage of Training
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Medical Student
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PGY 1
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PGY 2
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PGY 3
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PGY 4
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9.
Have you attended any formal communication training so far during residency?
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Yes
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No
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Appendix 3. Survey 2
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1.
During the oncology rotation how often did you find out more information about patient’s questions?
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Never
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Almost Never (~ 1–2 a month)
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Rarely (~ 1–2 times a week)
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Often (1–2 times a day)
-
Very Often (3–5 times a day)
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Extremely often (5–10 times a day)
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Always (almost every patient encounter, every day)
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-
2.
During the oncology rotation how often did you find out more and summarize back to patient’s what you heard them say?
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Never
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Almost Never (~ 1–2 times over 4 weeks)
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Rarely (~ 1–2 times a week)
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Often (1–2 times a day)
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Very Often (3–5 times a day)
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Extremely often (5–10 times a day)
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Always (almost every patient encounter, every day)
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-
3.
On the rotation, under what circumstances did you find yourself using the “Ask More & Summarize” technique? (choose all that apply)
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Explaining prognosis to patient
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Unrealistic patient expectations
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Angry/Upset patients or their families
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Patients with fear and/or anxiety
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Other (please specify in space below)
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Please list ‘other’ circumstances you found technique useful.
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4.
On the rotation, was there a time(s) that you wish you would have used the “Ask More & Summarize” technique, but did not?
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Yes
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No
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Please list reasons you could not use the technique:
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5.
What other communication skills did you find helpful during your oncology/palliative rotation? (choose all that apply)
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Empathy
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Agenda Setting
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Conveying value + respect
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Listening to the patient’s perspective
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Teach Back
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Other (please specify below)
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Please specify other techniques/skills used
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6.
Age
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7.
Gender
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Male
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Female
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Other
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8.
Stage of Training
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Medical Student
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PGY 1
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PGY 2
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PGY 3
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PGY 4
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Appendix 4. Survey 3
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1.
In the last 1 month, how often did you find out more information about patient’s questions before answering them?
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Never
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Almost Never (~ 1–2 a month)
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Rarely (~ 1–2 times a week)
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Often (1–2 times a day)
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Very Often (3–5 times a day)
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Extremely often (5–10 times a day)
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Always (almost every patient encounter, every day)
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-
2.
In the last 1 month, how often did you summarize back to patients what you heard them say?
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Never
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Almost Never (~ 1–2 times over 4 weeks)
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Rarely (~ 1–2 times a week)
-
Often (1–2 times a day)
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Very Often (3–5 times a day)
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Extremely often (5–10 times a day)
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Always (almost every patient encounter, every day)
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3.
During which rotations did you use these above techniques? (Check all that apply)
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Oncology
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Palliative care
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ICU
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General medicine wards
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Subspecialty wards (cardiology, liver, etc)
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Primary care clinic
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Subspecialty clinic
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4.
Under what circumstances did you find yourself using these techniques? (Check all that apply)
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Explaining prognosis to patient
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Unrealistic patient expectations
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Angry/Upset patients or their families
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Patients with fear and/or anxiety
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Other (please specify in space below)
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Please list ‘other’ circumstances you found technique useful.
-
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Patell, R., Maddaleni, G., Dodge, L. et al. Communication Skills Training for Internal Medicine Residents Using a Brief Animated Video. J Canc Educ 37, 379–386 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01825-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01825-y