ObjectiveTo discuss the present situation of emergency physicians' communicational ability and the intervention measures.
MethodsWe investigated 66 students who participated in continuing medical education of "emergency physicians' communication skills training course" from 2010 to 2013. All students accepted systematic training. After the training, we did the investigation again, and then made a comparison before and after the training.
ResultsA major 78.8% of the students in this training had never taken part in the training of communication skills before; 51.5% of the students thought that the improvement of communication ability could be achieved mainly through long-term accumulation of clinical experiences. Students' self-evaluation showed that communication problem occurred 2 times a year in 10.6% of them, 3 times in 22.7%, 4 times in 24.2%, and five or more times in 34.8%. Students' role playing score in the scenario training rose from 5.374±0.686 to 6.717±0.517 after the training, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.024).
ConclusionEmergency physicians lack knowledge of communication skills which needs to be improved. Through training, the skills can be improved significantly.
