Attitudes of medical students toward communication skills learning in Western Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES To explore medical students' attitudes towards communication skills learning in Western Saudi Arabia and to examine impact of socio-demographic variables on the attitudes towards learning these skills.   METHODS In this cross-sectional study, sample of medical students were recruited from Taif University, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the second semester (January-May 2014). Participants were all year 2 (197 students) and year 5 (151 students). The study utilize the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) to measure students' attitudes toward communication skills learning. The response rate was 93.9%.  RESULTS The study showed that Taif medical students hold highly positive attitudes towards learning communication skills. Positive attitude score (PAS) was significantly higher in level 5 students, older age group.   CONCLUSION Significant positive attitude toward learning communication skills clearly observed in target group. Students with more positive attitudes towards communication skills learning tended to be higher level and older age.