Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe how family physicians perceive the patient-centred interview (PCI) and the way in which it is taught during residency training. DESIGN: Mailed survey. SETTING: Family physicians from a variety of practice settings in Quebec. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-one family physicians who graduated from Laval University between 1996 and 1998. METHOD: Survey was conducted in 1999 using the modified Dillman method. The original questionnaire had mainly open-ended questions on perception of the PCI and learning activities associated with it during residency training. All qualitative data were subject to content analysis using triangulation strategies. MAIN FINDINGS: A PCI mainly involves exploring patients' experience of their illnesses; this helps physicians to better understand patients. Patients are more content with this type of interview and are, therefore, more likely to follow physicians' recommendations. Respondents reported the main drawback to be longer interview times; this was particularly true for emergency and walk-in care. The most useful learning activities during residency were reported to be supervision by direct observation and observation of supervisor-patient consultations. CONCLUSION: Patient-centred interviews enabled physicians to understand and help their patients better. Results of this study can help teachers who are developing and consolidating activities to teach residents how to conduct PCIs and how to integrate them into practice.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (202.6 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Beaumier A., Bordage G., Saucier D., Turgeon J. Nature of the clinical difficulties of first-year family medicine residents under direct observation. CMAJ. 1992 Feb 15;146(4):489–497. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Boucher G., Cayer S., St-Hilaire S. L'apprentissage de la relation médecin-patient. La supervision directe du R II dans une unité de médecine familiale. Can Fam Physician. 1993 Sep;39:2006–2012. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Brown J. B., Weston W. W. Training in Psychosocial Issues: Survey of family medicine graduates. Can Fam Physician. 1992 Apr;38:806–812. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Côté L., Clavet D., St-Hilaire S., Vaillancourt C., Blondeau F., Martineau B. La relation médecin-patient en médecine familiale. Can Fam Physician. 1999 May;45:1250–1254. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Côté L., Leclère H. How clinical teachers perceive the doctor-patient relationship and themselves as role models. Acad Med. 2000 Nov;75(11):1117–1124. doi: 10.1097/00001888-200011000-00020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mead N., Bower P. Patient-centredness: a conceptual framework and review of the empirical literature. Soc Sci Med. 2000 Oct;51(7):1087–1110. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(00)00098-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stewart M. A. Effective physician-patient communication and health outcomes: a review. CMAJ. 1995 May 1;152(9):1423–1433. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stewart M., Brown J. B., Boon H., Galajda J., Meredith L., Sangster M. Evidence on patient-doctor communication. Cancer Prev Control. 1999 Feb;3(1):25–30. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stewart M. Towards a global definition of patient centred care. BMJ. 2001 Feb 24;322(7284):444–445. doi: 10.1136/bmj.322.7284.444. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]