Longitudinal study: Impact of communication skills training and a traineeship on medical students’ attitudes toward communication skills

Objectives: To study longitudinally students’ attitudes towards communication skills (CS) in order to examine whether CS training (CST) has an enduring impact on medical students’ attitudes toward being a lifelong learner of CS. Methods: 105 students completed the Communication Skills Attitude Scale at 4 times: before CST, after CST and before and after a traineeship. Results: Our final sample size is 105 students. CST improved the attitudes of our students toward CS, and the traineeship stabilised those attitudes. However, while the improvement in positive attitudes was sustained over time, negative attitudes increased 6 months after CST. Conclusion: CST using experiential methods in a safe environment has the potential to improve students’ attitudes towards CS. A short traineeship in general medicine allows students to quickly integrate CST into clinical practice, without deteriorating their attitudes toward CS. However, 6 months of medical lessons without CST reinforces students’ negative attitudes. Practice implications: To avoid the deterioration of attitudes over time, CST should be continuous or at least spaced at intervals less than 6 months and supported by the institutional authorities. In addition, placing the CST close to an observation traineeship in general practice seems an interesting way to prevent further deterioration of attitudes.