Teaching motivational interviewing to first-year medical students to improve counseling skills in health behavior change.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the effectiveness of motivational interviewing training on improving medical students' knowledge of and confidence in their ability to counsel patients regarding health behavior change.


METHODS
In the spring of 2002, 42 first-year medical students participated in a counseling course on health behavior change. Three small groups focused on learning and practicing motivational interviewing techniques using brief lectures, interactive class activities, student role-plays, and simulated patients. Students completed an identical precourse and postcourse questionnaire that measured their confidence and knowledge regarding counseling skills in health behavior change.


RESULTS
The medical students reported improved confidence in their understanding of motivational interviewing after participation in the course (very confident, 77%) compared with before the course (very confident, 2%). Each of the 8 confidence items were compared before and after the course using a signed rank test. All comparisons indicated a significant improvement (P < .001) in confidence. Regarding knowledge-based questions, students showed significant improvement; 31% of students answered all the questions correctly before the course, and 56% answered all the questions correctly after the course (P = .004).


CONCLUSIONS
These results show that teaching motivational interviewing techniques to first-year medical students can enhance student confidence in and knowledge of providing counseling to patients regarding health behavior change.
Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn 55905, USA. poirier.maria@mayo.edu
Maria K
MK
Poirier
Matthew M
MM
Clark
Jane H
JH
Cerhan
Sandhya
S
Pruthi
Yonas E
YE
Geda
Lowell C
LC
Dale
D003376:Counseling; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008910:Minnesota; D009042:Motivation; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires