Teaching the medical interview: methods and key learning issues in a faculty development course.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare's (AACH) Faculty Development Course on Teaching the Medical Interview and report a single year's outcomes.


METHODS
We delivered a Faculty Development course on Teaching the Medical Interview whose theme was relationship-centered care to a national and international audience in 1999. Participants completed a retrospective pre-post assessment of their perceived confidence in performing interview, clinical, teaching, and self-awareness skills.


METHODS
A total of 79 participants in the 17th annual AACH national faculty development course at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in June 1999.


METHODS
A 5-day course utilized the principles of learner-centered learning to teach a national and international cohort of medical school faculty about teaching the medical interview.


RESULTS
The course fostered individualized, self-directed learning for participants, under the guidance of AACH faculty. Teaching methods included a plenary session, small groups, workshops, and project groups all designed to aid in the achievement of individual learning goals. Course outcomes of retrospective self-assessed confidence in interview, clinical, teaching, self-awareness, and control variables were measured using a 7-point Likert scale. Participants reported improved confidence in interview, clinical, teaching, and self-awareness variables. After controlling for desirability bias as measured by control variables, only teaching and self-awareness mean change scores were statistically significant (p < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
The AACH Faculty Development course on Teaching the Medical Interview utilized learner-centered teaching methods important to insure learning with experienced course participants. Perceived teaching and self-awareness skills changed the most when compared to other skills.
Hatem
David S
DS
American Academy on Communication in Healthcare, Chesterfield, MO, USA. hatemd@ummhc.org
Barrett
Susan V
SV
Hewson
Mariana
M
Steele
David
D
Purwono
Urip
U
Smith
Robert
R
D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000379:methods*; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D008487:Medical History Taking / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States