The impact of patient narrative interview training on medical students’ narrative competence – A randomized controlled trial

A BSTRACT Objectives: Medical students’ narrative competence was trained primarily through reflective writing, literature reading, patient stories, film viewing, music listening, and art appreciation. This study aimed to explore the impact of patient narrative interview training on medical students’ narrative competence. Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled pre–posttest design was employed with 63 5 th - and 6 th -year MSs (32 experimental and 31 control groups). The experimental group received training in patient narrative interview guide and conducted narrative interviews with 32 patients with significant or chronic illnesses. Both groups completed the narrative competence scale pre- and postintervention. The narrative competence scale includes four dimensions: narrative horizon, narrative construction, medical relationship, and medical care. A mixed-methods approach incorporated quantitative analysis via one-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and qualitative data from questionnaires and postexperiment interview guides. Results: MANCOVA revealed significant differences between experimental and control groups (Wilks’ λ = 0.64, F [4, 54] = 7.068, P < 0.05). The experimental group showed significant improvements in narrative construction ( F [1, 57] = 29.39, η² = 0.34), medical relationship ( F [1, 57] = 22.25, η² = 0.28), and medical care ( F [1, 57] = 19.77, η² = 0.26), all P < 0.0125. All subdimensions of these three domains also showed significant improvements ( P < 0.0125). Findings from the qualitative feedback questionnaires and postexperiment patient interviews further supported the quantitative results, demonstrating enhancements in medical students’ narrative competencies. Conclusion: Compared to the control group peers, patient narrative interview training significantly enhanced medical students’ narrative competence, especially in narrative construction, medical relationship, and medical care.