Background: Healthcare organizations are increasingly seeking to improve physician well-being to combat rates of physician burnout. The Stanford Wellness Framework details a multi-pronged solution which includes three domains: personal resilience, culture of wellness, and efficiency of practice. Enhanced communication skills can improve patient-provider relationships and foster personal resilience, while improving efficiency in practice and contributing to an overall culture of wellness. Therefore, a low-cost, high-yield professional development program for providers focusing on enhancing communication skills could positively impact hospitalist well-being.
Purpose: To develop a “Talking Hospitalist” professional development program to enhance provider communication skills and improve hospitalist well-being.
Description: Previously we had conducted a communication-skills needs assessment survey among hospital medicine faculty which identified primary areas of communication challenges in the workplace. The majority of those surveyed suggested that communication challenges were a major source of professional dissatisfaction. We piloted a series of three, 1-hour, mid-day sessions with iterative design cycles to increase participants and maximize value. We then asked providers to commit to attending a 4-part series and complete a pre and post survey to ascertain knowledge, skills and attitudes regarding various communication skills with patients, colleagues and learners. Those who attended at least 3 sessions and completed both surveys received a certificate of completion. A total of 39 participants attended at least 1 of 8 group sessions covering 4 topics. Each topic was conducted on two separate occasions to facilitate hospitalist schedules. A total of 52 surveys were completed following all individual sessions. Of the individual sessions, participants reported that they were likely to recommend this session to a friend or colleague (average 9.1 on 10-point scale), and it was a good use of their time (4.5 on a 5-point scale). Six hospital medicine providers completed the certification pathway. Post survey data showed an increased frequency of usage of communication skills components including joint agenda setting and tools from the communication skills framework. Five of 6 providers cited increased confidence managing challenging conversations with patients. There was an overall increase in confidence in use of reflective listening, joint agenda setting, and PEARLS communication skills. Two of the 6 providers noted that challenging conversations with patients had less of a negative impact on their job satisfaction after completing the series.
Conclusions: Hospitalists who choose to participate in professional development programs to enhance provider communication skills may experience improved job satisfaction and enhanced well-being. While participation in one-time voluntary communication skill-building sessions was high and deemed valuable by hospitalists, a certification pathway consisting multiple sessions proved difficult logistically for participants.