Integrating medical and practical skills in communication skills training: Do students feel it supports them with transfer from classroom to practice?

OBJECTIVE: To describe innovations in a clinical communication skills training (CCST) program, aimed at facilitating transfer of communication skills from classroom to clinical practice and report student's evaluations regarding this program. METHODS: To facilitate transfer, we integrated CCS with medical and practical skills, and we developed simulation sessions closely resembling clinical practice in case-history's, length of consultation, and patient-population. Feedback was given on communication skills and medical knowledge and skills. Student's opinions about whether these elements were helpful, were evaluated using a questionnaire. RESULTS: Responses of 144 students were analyzed. The majority of the respondents agreed that this CCST program helped them with transfer of CCS from classroom to clinical practice, as did the feedback on medical content and communication skills in the same session. CONCLUSION: Students indicate that simulations resembling clinical practice and feedback on both CST and medical content facilitate the transfer of their skills to clinical practice. INNOVATION: This CCST program is innovative because it integrates medical and practical skills, with elements aiming to create an educational environment resembling clinical practice as closely as possible in order to facilitate transfer to clinical practice.