Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Psychodynamic approaches to teaching medical students about the doctor–patient relationship: randomised controlled trial

2011; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 35; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1192/pb.bp.110.033704

1758-3209

Jessica Yakeley, Peter Shoenberg, Richard Morris, David Sturgeon, Sarah Majid,

Clinical Reasoning and Diagnostic Skills

Aims and method To evaluate the effectiveness of two psychodynamic psychotherapy teaching methods, a student psychotherapy scheme (SPS) and participation in a Balint group, in teaching first-year clinical medical students about doctor–patient communication and the doctor–patient relationship. The 28 students, who were randomly allocated to three groups (SPS group, Balint group starting at baseline and Balint group starting at 3 months and acting as partial controls), were rated on a questionnaire testing their knowledge of emotional and psychodynamic aspects of the doctor–patient relationship administered at baseline, at 3 months and at 1 year. Results At 3 months, students in the SPS and Balint groups scored higher than the partial control group, the difference approaching significance at the 5% level. At 1 year, participation in either teaching method led to significantly higher scores compared with baseline. Clinical implications Psychodynamic psychotherapy teaching methods are effective in increasing students' knowledge of the doctor-patient relationship and potentially also improving their communication skills.