Communication Skills Education for Medical Students

Abstract

Teaching communication skills to medical students is a critical component of medical education, since it is through discourse that care is often provided to patients. Advancements in communication skills training in the early 2000s added a theoretical basis and framework to these important education tasks. Communication skills education is usually required by accrediting bodies and includes both communication behaviours and goals for medical students. Medical educators have struggled to effectively assess students’ communication skills since the assessment of these skills can be seen as subjective and situational. Recent developments in communication skills education for medical students have included incorporating more technology and other disciplines within the field.