Medical student acquisition and retention of communication and interviewing skills

Medical students' interpersonal and communication skills were assessed over the course of their first two years of medical training. During the first year, students participated in a nine-week course designed to develop effective interviewing skills. On the average, students improved significantly on two standardized measures of communication and discrimination skills as a result of this training. Upon completion of this course, the students conducted a videotaped interview with "screened patients," persons trained in interviewing skills. Evaluation of these videotapes indicated a level of performance commensurate with performance on the written measures. A similar interview was conducted about one year after the first " screened patient" interview to assess retention of these skills. Results of the first and second video analyses indicated a significant decline in student process-oriented skills. These findings indicate that effective interviewing and communication skills can be not only learned but also forgotten.