Appraisal of the communication skills of residents in the Family Medicine Program in Central Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES: To assess patients’ perceptions of the communication skills of family medicine residents. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from patients, seeing 23 residents from 4 family medicine residency programs in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia namely, King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh Military Hospital, Security Forces Hospital, and King Abdul-Aziz Medical City. The translated version of the Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) was used. Data were collected during January and February 2013. RESULTS: A total of 350 patients completed the CAT, with an 87.5% response rate. Patients rated each resident differently, but the mean percentage of items, which residents rated as excellent was 71%. In general, male residents were rated higher 72.8 ± 27.2 than female residents 67.8 ± 32.2 with a significant difference; (p<0.005). Also, significant differences were found based on the gender of the residents, when each item of the CAT was compared. Comparing training centers, there were no significant differences found in the overall percentage of items rated as excellent or among items of the CAT. CONCLUSION: The study identified areas of strength and weaknesses that need to be addressed to improve communication skills of physicians.