O.O.8.1Which Need Most: Communication Skills Decay among Health Professionals after a Post-Graduate Program

The need for refreshment courses on doctor-patient communication has long been recognized in view of acquired competences eroding in time. Although research shows positive effects of communication skills programs, less studies focus on which skills erode most, thus requiring particular attention. The goal of this study was to examine which communication skills tend to wear down among health professionals after a communication skills program. The program for health professionals focused on basic relational competences throughout three months, after which participants were evaluated (T1) with the SEGUE framework applied to interviews with simulated patients. Six months later, participants were evaluated again (T2). Data were analyzed with GLM repeated-measures procedures. An analysis with 151 health professionals showed that, although some aspects improved significantly after six months since the first evaluation (all focusing on the patient), various communication aspects showed decreased use at T2, including some pertaining to the “doctor-centered” phase of the interview (e.g., exploring signs/symptoms; p = 0.033). In addition, significant effects emerged by professional group (e.g., explaining the benefits of a plan option; p = 0.023). The results are surprising because more aspects of the patient-centered (rather than the doctor-centered) approach could be expected to erode. A possible explanation is that, although basic communication skills were practiced in the first three months of the course, the program continued after that, with such topics as delivering bad news, which might reinforce the focus on the patient. These results point to the importance of stressing doctor-centered aspects of the clinical encounter more, which the emphasis on patient-centered approaches might compromise in communication programs. Emphasis on different communication aspects for different professional groups might also be required.