The Impact of an Interactive Workshop on the Perception of Importance of Communication Skills in Physiotherapy among UG Students and Clinical Staff

Introduction: Communication forms a solid foundation in the healthcare profession. A health care professional with good communication skills would ensure greater patient adherence and improve the efficacy of their treatment. The physiotherapeutic approach of intervention is based on functional diagnosis which requires a greater amount of communication in order to interpret the mode of treatment accurately. It is well documented that communication skills workshops have had a positive impact on medical professionals. However, very little evidence is available to find what impact an Interactive Applied Communication Skills workshop has on Undergraduate students.

Methodology: The study commenced in December 2021, with 30 participants, including 17 UG students and 13 Clinical Staff members. These participants attended an in-person interactive communication skills workshop. Prior to and post the workshop, the participants filled a published and validated Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS). The CSAS consists of 26 questions in both positive and negative dimensions. The response of the participants was compared after the Case-Based learning workshop.

Results: All the UG students (n=17) and Clinical Staff members (n=13) filled out the CSAS pre and post-workshop. It was observed that the Positive Attitude Sub-Scale (PAS) which consisted of 13 questions improved after the workshop, however, the Negative Attitude Sub-Scale (NAS) which consisted of 13 questions mostly remained unchanged after the workshop.

Conclusion: This study suggests that communication skills workshop have a statistically significant positive impact on the perception of importance of Communication skills among Undergraduate students and clinical staff members. Thus, regular sensitization of students and clinical staff to communication skills should be implemented.