title: Comparing self-reported communication skills of medical students in traditional and integrated curricula: a nationwide study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate medical students' self-assessments of their communication skills through medical school related to background factors, curriculum design and perceived medical school stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical students at all year levels attending Norwegian universities in the spring of 2003 were mailed the Oslo Inventory of Self-reported Communication Skills (OSISCS) developed by the authors. Of the total number of students (N=3055), 60% responded. One school had a traditional curriculum, the other three ran integrated models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Students assessed their instrumental communication skills to increase linearly year by year, while the relational skills showed a curve-linear trajectory reaching the optimum level half-way into the curriculum. Students attending the traditional school reported lower levels of instrumental skills compared to the students from the integrated schools. In relational skills, a similar difference was maintained half-way into the curriculum, but disappeared towards the end. Perceived medical school stress correlated to the self-reported end point levels of the two types of communication skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The trajectories of self-reported instrumental and relational skills indicate significant variations in facilitating mechanisms between curricula, cognitive processing and perceived medical school stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reported instrumental and relational communication skills develop differently in medical students over the years according to the type of curriculum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Curricula should be evaluated for improvement implementations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Sciences in Medicine, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1111-Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway. tore.gude@medisin.uio.no
authors.forename: Tore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gude
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baerheim
authors.forename: Are
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Holen
authors.forename: Tor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Anvik
authors.forename: Arnstein
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Finset
authors.forename: Hilde
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grimstad
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hjortdahl
authors.forename: Terje
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Risberg
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vaglum
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D013315:Stress, Psychological