1817 - Feasibility of Interprofessional Communication Skills Training

Serious illness communication using an interprofessional approach is an important skillset for rehabilitation teams.  Evidence confirms that structured communication training results in more frequent and higher quality conversations about patient values and more goal concordant care.  That said, serious illness communication education has not been adapted for interprofessional rehabilitation teams to date.

The objective of the current study is to examine the feasibility of implementing a novel adaptation of a communication skills curriculum for an interprofessional rehabilitation team.

Design:

A communication skills curriculum was adapted from VitalTalks for an interprofessional rehabilitation team. Using a virtual platform, the curriculum consisted of four interactive sessions scheduled during established team meetings.  The final session made use of simulated patients during which learners applied the skills gained during the prior three sessions.  After the course, participants completed surveys at 1 month and 1 year exploring satisfaction with the course, perceived confidence with learned skills and actual use of learned skills.  

Results:

Eight participants completed the course and both sets of surveys. Professional disciplines represented included physicians, social workers, registered nurses, psychologists, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists. Following course completion, 83% of participants reported overall satisfaction with the course.  At 1 year follow up, 63% of participants reported confidence with the core communication skills highlighted by the course.  Similarly, 63% of participants reported using the skills they learned during the course on a regular basis.

Conclusions:

Communication skills training can be adapted for and implemented for interprofessional rehabilitation teams.  Next steps include dissemination of this type of training and further investigation into its impact on patient care.