Do I Buy It? How AIDET™ Training Changes Residents' Values about Patient Care

Objectives: Acquiring communication and interpersonal skills is an important part ofproviding patient-centered care and improving patient satisfaction. Thisstudy explores whether residents' own values about patient communication canbe influenced by training. Methods: As part of service excellence, a three-hour communication skills training inAIDET™ (Acknowledge, Introduce, Duration, Explanation, Thank You) wasdelivered to first and second Post-Graduate Year (PGY) residents (n = 123).A survey was designed to measure the value of patient communication andadministered pre/post communication skills training. Results: Residents' scores about communication values improved significantly for allareas pre- to post-training for patient communication skills (p<0.04).After training, there was little difference by medical specialty, other thansurgical specialties, which showed the greatest increase in valuingrequesting permission (p=0.034). Gender was also not associated withdifferences in values, except men showed a greater increase in valuingsitting down (p=0.021) and introductions (p=0.005) than women who alreadyvalued these specific behaviors prior to training. Conclusions: Residents value communication, and AIDET™ training is a useful tool toincrease the values of good communication and interpersonal skills toenhance service excellence.