Contact: Media Relations Officer
AAMC Press Room
Oct. 23-26 Hilton Washington and Towers
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Adams Room

Immediate Release

AAMC Report Aims to Enhance Communications
Skills Training at U.S. Medical Schools

AAMC Issues Doctor-Patient Communications Fact Sheet, Launches "Doctoring 101"

Washington, D.C., October 26, 1999 -- Preparing medical students, and our country's future doctors, with the skills to communicate effectively with patients and to provide compassionate care is a top priority for U.S. medical schools. A new report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) both details the importance of physician communications skills in the delivery of health care today and provides training and assessment guidance to medical educators. "Contemporary Issues in Medicine: Communication in Medicine" is the third report issued by the AAMC's Medical School Objectives Project (MSOP).

"Changes in the health care system, an increasingly diverse U.S. population, and the boom in patient access to health care information are making the communications skills of doctors a major priority for the public," said AAMC President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D. "Medical schools are responding vigorously to the changing health care needs of Americans and are placing special emphasis on ensuring future doctors aren't just skilled in the art of diagnosing and treating disease but are also skilled in managing information and communicating with their patients."

The AAMC report discusses the importance of effective communication in medicine, summarizes the current state of communication skills teaching and assessment and offers an action plan for improving communications skills education. The report was prepared for the AAMC by Gregory Makoul, Ph.D., director, Communication in Medicine Program, Northwestern University School of Medicine.

"Effective communication has been linked with increases in physician and patient satisfaction, adherence to treatment plans, more appropriate medical decisions and better health outcomes," the AAMC report states. The document also includes a task force report on spirituality, cultural issues and end-of-life care. The task force report presents detailed learning objectives relevant to the topics of concern and suggests educational strategies that may be employed by medical school deans and faculty.

The AAMC report identifies several communications-related goals for medical students:

• Develop an appreciation of the interpersonal and situational dynamics of medical encounters;
• Become oriented to the communication tasks of a physician;
• Begin to build a base of skills and strategies associated with these tasks;
• Begin to learn to deal with difficult topics and situations encountered in clinical practice;
• Develop a base of skills and strategies for working with family members; and
• Develop a base of skills and strategies for working with physician colleagues and other members of the health-care team.

The release of the communications skills report coincides with another AAMC initiative to inform the public about how medical schools are training doctors to be more responsive to the needs of their patients. In public opinion research conducted by the Association last year, 85 percent of the respondents stated that the most important factors patients look for when selecting a doctor is whether their physician "communicates well" and demonstrates a "caring attitude." Where a doctor is trained and how long they have been in practice are far less important, according to the survey respondents.

To highlight the many innovations in medical education occurring at U.S. medical schools around the country, each month the AAMC will issue a fact sheet focussing on one area of particular interest. This month, the fact sheet features medical school programs in "Doctor-Patient Communication." In addition, doctor-patient communication is the focus of a new AAMC web site called, "Doctoring 101," which is being launched to showcase and to provide links to innovative medical school programs around the country. Each month the fact sheet and "Doctoring 101" will together feature a new topic.

To receive a copy of the AAMC report, the "Doctor-Patient Communication" fact sheet, or to learn more about MSOP please contact Jennifer Bush at 202-828-0041 or jbush@aamc.org.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges represents the 125 accredited U.S. medical schools; the 16 accredited Canadian medical schools; some 400 major teaching hospitals, including 74 Veterans Administration medical centers; 91 academic and professional societies representing nearly 88,000 faculty members; and the nation's 67,000 medical students and 102,000 residents.

Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.