Situational effects on the communication behaviors of pediatric residents.
The variation in communication behaviors of pediatric residents in different interview circumstances was examined. Twenty-three residents were videotaped in three simulated counseling sessions. Two of the sessions entailed counseling a mother of a toddler with multiple handicaps during a well-child visit. The third, which took place between the other two sessions, entailed informing a new mother that her child has Down's syndrome. The residents' performances were evaluated using a subjective rating scale and an objective frequency count of behaviors. Analysis of variance demonstrated significant effects for both observation scales. Spearman correlations were not significant between any of the situations. The results suggest that residents' communication behaviors vary with the type of counseling situation.
D003142:Communication; D003376:Counseling; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D010372:Pediatrics; D011368:Professional-Family Relations