A cross-sectional evaluation of communication skills and perceived barriers among the resident doctors at a tertiary care center in India

BACKGROUND: The study was conducted to assess the different components of communication skills and barriers to practicing good communication skills among resident doctors in a health care setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A web-based cross-sectional survey was performed, and data were collected using a pre-validated questionnaire with a Cronbach's alpha (0.88). A total of 431 responses were statistically analyzed. Chi-square test was used to associate the socio-demographics and communication skills. Regression analysis was conducted to analyze the association between various communication domains and barriers, which were adjusted for potential confounders such as age and gender. RESULTS: Resident doctors have differential levels of competencies in each domain of communication skills. Around two-thirds of the residents did not practice good communication skills while breaking the bad news and reported poor para-verbal skills. Some of the most common barriers to practicing good communication skills were found to be an infrastructural deficit, lack of time, and long working hours. These barriers significantly affected the communication skills such as para-verbal skills {[-0.32; P < 0.01; C.I (-0.54 to -0.09), [-0.27, P < 0.05, C.I (-0.54 to. 004)], [-0.32, P < 0.01, (0.07–0.56)]}, the ability to break bad news {[-0.42, P < 0.01, (-0.73 to -0.11)], [-0.35, P < 0.05, (-0.75 to -0.35)], [0.48, P < 0.01, (0.12–0.84)]}, and communication with patients/attendants {[0.39, P < 0.01, C.I (-0.71 to -0.06)], [-0.88, P < 0.001, C.I (-1.2 to -0.48)], [-0.88, P < 0.001, C.I (-1.2 to -0.48)]} after adjustment for confounding such as age and gender. CONCLUSION: There is a scope for improvement in practicing good communication skills with patients, among the residents doctors in India. Structured modules for training and evaluation should be implemented in the medical curriculum.