BMJ  2003;327:694-695 (27 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7417.694

Editorial

Teaching medical students and doctors how to communicate risk

Combining the teaching of statistics with communication skills

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The need for doctors to have proficient communication skills is well recognised,1 but teaching students how to communicate risk to patients seems to have received little attention in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Primarily it is statisticians who teach the concept of probability. This ultimately translates into the communication of risk that informs the clinical consultation. Although students need to appreciate the basics of statistical methods and know the different ways to convey risk,2 it is particularly important that they have the opportunity to practise these skills under safe conditions and receive constructive feedback.1 3

The recently established graduate entry programme at St George's Hospital Medical School in London has an integrated curriculum across all years.4 The course is delivered by using problem based learning whereby students use "triggers" from a problem case or scenario to identify their own learning issues.5 It has been suggested that students are more motivated by such . . . [Full text of this article]

Philip Sedgwick, lecturer in medical statistics

(p.sedgwick@sghms.ac.uk)

Angela Hall, senior lecturer in clinical communication

(ahall@sghms.ac.uk), Departments of Community Health Sciences, Medical and Health Care Education, St George's Hospital Medical School, London SW17 0RE


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Solari, A., Acquarone, N., Pucci, E., Martinelli, V., Marrosu, M.G., Trojano, M., Borreani, C., Messmer Uccelli, M. (2007). Communicating the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis - a qualitative study. Mult Scler 13: 763-769 [Abstract]  
  • Drife, J. (2007). Putting risk into context. The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist 9: 42-47 [Abstract] [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

How to communicate risk: statistics or skill
Vivan Talwar, et al.
bmj.com, 27 Sep 2003 [Full text]
Whether to communicate risk?
Ajay Malviya
bmj.com, 30 Sep 2003 [Full text]
Re: How to communicate risk: statistics or skill
Nick Clark
bmj.com, 30 Sep 2003 [Full text]
Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ