Tufts University School of Medicine
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Enhancing Fundamental Communication Skills: Patient Safety and Medical Errors
Purpose: To enhance the fundamental communication skills of medical students with their health care team in the area of patient safety and medical errors.
Objectives: Increase student awareness of medical errors in an attempt to encourage open and appropriate discussion. As a vital part of the health care team, students should be able to recognize and admit an error, identify a member of the health care team to discuss it with, and be able to take the initial steps toward correction, communication, and prevention of a recurrence.
Educational Methods: Video vignettes of medical error/patient safety situations; Pre/post intervention survey of student knowledge and attitudes surrounding communicating about medical errors with health care team.
Applications: Lecture/discussion of video vignettes at 3rd year student orientation; Small group discussion for two 1-hour sessions during internal medicine clerkship.