Increasing patient acceptance of medical student participation: using interactive theatre for faculty development.
BACKGROUND
Interactive theatre (IT) has been used to train faculty the skills and strategies to address challenging dynamics in educational settings.


OBJECTIVE
This study described the development, implementation, and evaluation of an IT approach to improve preceptors' skills for increasing patients' acceptance of medical student participation in clinical care.


METHODS
Focus groups were conducted with faculty, residents, medical students, and clinic staff to discuss issues related to patients declining medical student participation. Findings were used to develop a faculty development session using an IT approach. At a Family Medicine grand rounds presentation, faculty and resident preceptors (n = 42) participated in the IT workshop and completed a pre-post survey assessing skills specific to increasing students' training opportunities in patient care and educational impact of the session.


RESULTS
Following the IT session, preceptors reported greater self-efficacy for helping patients feel more comfortable with medical students in the exam room (p =.031, d = 0.338) and increased comfort level with talking to patients about medical students performing sensitive exams (p =.010, d = 0.357). Eighty-eight percent of preceptors agreed or strongly agreed that the session was relevant to improving clinical precepting skills and helped them develop strategies for enhancing medical student involvement in care.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that the interactive theatre approach to faculty development is an innovative and effective method to increase preceptors' comfort with discussing medical student involvement with patients.
Tang
Tricia S
TS
Department of Medical Education, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-5201, USA. tangts@umich.edu
Skye
Eric P
EP
Steiger
Jeffrey A
JA
D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004324:Drama; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011231:Preceptorship / Q000592:standards; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016312:Treatment Refusal