Improving residents' confidence in using psychosocial skills.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate an intensive training program's effects on residents' confidence in their ability in, anticipation of positive outcomes from, and personal commitment to psychosocial behaviors.


METHODS
Controlled randomized study.


METHODS
A university- and community-based primary care residency training program.


METHODS
26 first-year residents in internal medicine and family practice.


METHODS
The residents were randomly assigned to a control group or to one-month intensive training centered on psychosocial skills needed in primary care.


METHODS
Questionnaires measuring knowledge of psychosocial medicine, and self-confidence in, anticipation of positive outcomes from, and personal commitment to five skill areas: psychological sensitivity, emotional sensitivity, management of somatization, and directive and nondirective facilitation of patient communication.


RESULTS
The trained residents expressed higher self-confidence in all five areas of psychosocial skill (p < 0.03 for all tests), anticipated more positive outcomes for emotional sensitivity (p = 0.05), managing somatization (p = 0.03), and nondirectively facilitating patient communication (p = 0.02), and were more strongly committed to being emotionally sensitive (p = 0.055) and managing somatization (p = 0.056), compared with the untrained residents. The trained residents also evidenced more knowledge of psychosocial medicine than did the untrained residents (p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Intensive psychosocial training improves residents' self-confidence in their ability regarding key psychosocial behaviors and increases their knowledge of psychosocial medicine. Training also increases anticipation of positive outcomes from and personal commitment to some, but not all, psychosocial skills.
Smith
R C
RC
Department of Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA.
Mettler
J A
JA
Stöffelmayr
B E
BE
Lyles
J S
JS
Marshall
A A
AA
Van Egeren
L F
LF
Osborn
G G
GG
Shebroe
V
V
D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education*; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D012655:Self-Evaluation Programs; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires