Medical students' cognitive and affective attitudes towards learning and using communication skills--a nationwide cross-sectional study.
OBJECTIVE
We wanted to explore cognitive and affective attitudes towards communication skills among students in Norwegian medical schools.


METHODS
1833 (60% response rate) medical students at the four medical schools in Norway filled in questionnaires by the end of term in May 2003. The Communication Skills Attitudes Scale (CSAS) was used for assessing affective and cognitive attitudes separately.


CONCLUSIONS
Medical students have positive attitudes towards learning and using communication skills. Cognitive and affective attitudes displayed different patterns. Being female and having worked in the health services before admission to the medical school predicted more positive scores both towards cognitive and affective attitudes. Having worked as a junior doctor during medical school predicted more positive cognitive attitudes. Cognitive attitudes towards communication skills did not vary significantly between year groups in any of the medical schools. Scores reflecting affective attitudes gradually fell for each year in all schools, but rose again in the final year in two of them. Implications for curriculum design are discussed.
Anvik
Tor
T
University of Tromsø, Norway.
Grimstad
Hilde
H
Baerheim
Anders
A
Bernt Fasmer
Ole
O
Gude
Tore
T
Hjortdahl
Per
P
Holen
Are
A
Risberg
Terje
T
Vaglum
Per
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires