Teaching brief motivational interviewing to Year three medical students.
OBJECTIVE
In 2005, the authors developed and tested a curriculum to teach Year 3 Yale University medical students a behaviour change counselling approach called 'brief motivational interviewing' (BMI). Brief motivational interviewing is a patient-centred approach designed to promote changes in patient behaviour within the time constraints imposed by a busy medical practice.


METHODS
Standardised patients/instructors delivered the curriculum within a single 2-hour training episode using a teaching acronym called 'CHANGE' to promote the students' learning. The authors used a pretest, post-test and 4-week follow-up design to assess students' BMI skills (as measured by the Helpful Response Questionnaire), knowledge and attitudes toward the approach.


RESULTS
Students successfully increased their use of BMI-consistent behaviours, primarily by increasing the frequency and depth of their reflections and by reducing the frequency with which they incorporated communication roadblocks and closed questions into their responses (all P-values < or = 0.05). Students also showed increases in BMI knowledge, interest in the approach, confidence in their ability to use BMI, and commitment to incorporating BMI skills into their future medical practice (all P-values < or = 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that Year 3 medical students can learn basic BMI skills and knowledge and develop positive attitudes toward the approach within a relatively short period of time. The authors discuss the study's limitations and future directions for teaching students BMI.
Martino
Steve
S
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06516, USA. steve.martino@yale.edu
Haeseler
Frederick
F
Belitsky
Richard
R
Pantalon
Michael
M
Fortin
Auguste H
AH
D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003142:Communication; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013337:Students, Medical; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*