Confidence and Use of Communication Skills in Medical Students

Background: Well-designed interventions can improve the communication skills of physicians. Since the understanding of the current situation is essential for designing effective interventions, this study was performed to determine medical interns’ confidence and use of communication skills.Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed in spring 2013 within 3 branches of Islamic Azad University (Tehran, Mashhad, and Yazd), on 327 randomly selected interns. Data gathering instrument was a questionnaire with 14 items for confidence and 17 items for use of communication skills. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics as well as Spearman and Mann- Whitney U tests.Results: Students’ confidence and use of communication skills was evaluated moderate. There was a significant positive correlation between students’ confidence and use of communication skills (r=0.42, p=0.001). Male students reported higher scores for confidence and use of communication skills compared to female, but this was not significant (p=0.055 and p=0.292, respectively).Conclusion: Considering significant correlation between confidence and use of communication skills, designing educational interventions is recommended for development of confidence and resulting use of communication skills in medical students

The Association between Patient-centered Hidden Curriculum and Medical Students’ Communication Skills

Introduction: Nowadays, physicians, medical organizations, and policy makers increasingly emphasize patient centered medical care. Regarding the importance of hidden curriculum in development of medical students’ professional behaviors, this study was conducted to investigate correlation between patient-centered hidden curriculum and medical students’ communication skills. Methods: This descriptive correlation study was performed in spring 2013 within 3 Branches of Islamic Azad University (Tehran, Mashhad, and Yazd) on 327 randomly selected interns. Data gathering instruments were 2 questionnaires: One for patient-centered curriculum (including 3 dimensions of role modeling, students’ experiences, and support for students’ patient-centered behaviors) and the other for students’ communication skills. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics as well as Spearman and Mann-Whitney U tests. Results: Among dimensions of patient-centered hidden curriculum, the highest and lowest scores belonged to support for students’ patient-centered behaviors dimension (mean: 63.1 out of 100) and students’ experiences (mean: 44.9 out of 100). There was a significant positive correlation between students’ communication skills with two dimensions of “role modeling” and “support for students’ patient-centered behaviors” (r= 0.24, r= 0.37 respectively and P=0.001). Female students reported lower scores for patient-centeredness in curriculum and their communication skills compared to male students. But this was significant only in “support for students’ patient-centered behaviors” dimension (58.4 versus 66.9, p= 0.005). Conclusion: Considering significant correlation between communication skills and 2 dimensions of patient-centered curriculum, deeper understanding of learning environment and designing interventions for favorable changes, is recommended for development of patient-centered communication

Prevention of Adhesion after Endoscopic Sinus Surgery: Role of Mitomycin C

Adhesions after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) are a potential cause of surgical failure. Mitomycin-C (MMC) is recently proposed as a solution for these adhesions. This study was performed to investigate the effect of Mitomycin C in reducing scar formation and adhesion in the nasal mucosa after endoscopic nasal surgery. This double blind randomized clinical trial study was performed on 37 patients with bilateral chronic rhinosinusitis. At the end of ESS, randomly impregnated mesh with MMC was placed in one side and another mesh impregnated with saline in the opposite side for 5 minutes. Patients were followed at least for three months, and the results of diagnostic endoscopy were recorded. Post operative adhesion occurred in 12 (32.4%) patients (2 bilateral/10 unilateral). Among total of 14 adhesions, 4 (10.8%) were in the MMC side and 10 (27%) in the control side. This differences was close to statistically significant (P=0.058). MMC may reduce adhesions after ESS, but further studies with different doses, sample size and frequent use of topical MMC is recommended