This study evaluates the efficacy of the preclinical communication skills training (CST) programme at the International Medical University in Malaysia. Efficacy indicators include students' (1) perceived competency (2) attitude (3) conceptual knowledge, and (4) performance with regard to patient-centred communication. A longitudinal study with a before-after design tracked a preclinical cohort'...

This article describes the development of four assessment tools designed to evaluate the communication skills training (CST) programme at the International Medical University (IMU). The tools measure pre-clinical students' 1) perceived competency in basic interpersonal skills, 2) attitude towards patient-centred communication, 3) conceptual knowledge on doctor-patient communication, and 4) acce...

The purpose of this study was to analyze the nature of the coordination evolution during the process of learning a gross motor skill. Participants had to learn to oscillate as smoothly as possible on an experimental swing during 10 sessions of 10 trials. Using tools and methods of dynamical systems theory, two qualitatively different coordination modes were observed during learning. The change ...

Medical Education 2011: 45: 217-226 Objectives  The view that training in communication skills produces skilled communication is sometimes criticised by those who argue that communication is individual and intuitive. We therefore examine the validity of the concept of communication as a skill and identify alternative principles to underpin future development of this field. Methods  We criticall...

PROBLEM What were the effects of a communication skills training intervention among a sample of young adolescents and parents who scored in the "extreme" range of the Circumplex Model of Family Systems? METHODS Thirty-seven young adolescents and a parent (intervention group) participated in communication skills training 2 hours/week for 6 weeks. Their responses on measures of satisfaction wit...

Introduction: Public health is a life quality concerning a person's emotional, mental, moral states and biological fitness that helps him to be able to adapt to the surrounding environment and do sufficient amount of physical, mental, and social work. Materials and methods: In this cross sectional study, 903 families from different cities of Ilam were selected through multistage cluster samplin...

Background: Mental disorder is one of the most important diseases of which is predicted to increase from 10.5% to 15% until 2020. This study aimed to determine economic factors influencing mental health using multiple regression models in Ilam province in 2013. Methods: In this cross sectional study, 903 families from different cities of Ilam were selected using multistage cluster sampling. ...