Evaluating communication skills

This study investigates the construct validity of an instrument to measure the quality of communication skills, during one curriculum year of a four year longitudinal communication skills training programme. 42 Representative videotapes of students' simulated patient encounters at the beginning of the third year and 35 of the end of the year were assessed by nineteen trained observers, using the MAAS-Global criteria list. A difference in communication skill competence was found between the performance at the beginning and at the end of the third year. The specific aspects in which the students improved revealed a greater routine in conducting a doctor-patient encounter and a greater structuring capability: those communication skills that have been trained in the years before the study period, thus supporting the validity of this instrument.