Impact of e-learning and role play-based training on psychology students' communication skills: a feasibility study.

Background: Given the importance of communication skills in the psychologist-patient relationship, several training programs have been proposed. Cumulative microtraining (CMT) has shown positive impacts on communication skills in previous studies.

Methods: The aim of this naturalistic pre-post study was to test the feasibility of a hybrid CMT program and obtain preliminary data on its impact on communication skills in French-speaking third-year psychology students.

Effectiveness of an online Problem-Based learning curriculum for training family medical doctors in Brazil.

Background: Problem-based learning (PBL) and distance education (DE) have been combined as educational approaches in higher education. This combination has been called distributed PBL. In health professions education it has been called online PBL (OPBL).

Training Medical Specialists to Communicate Better with Patients with Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms (MUPS). A Randomized, Controlled Trial.

Background: Patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are prevalent 25-50% in general and specialist care. Medical specialists and residents often find patients without underlying pathology difficult to deal with, whereas patients sometimes don't feel understood. We developed an evidence-based communication training, aimed to improve specialists' interviewing, information-giving and planning skills in MUPS consultations, and tested its effectiveness.

Training specialists to write appropriate reply letters to general practitioners about patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms; A cluster-randomized trial.

Objective: To evaluate effects of a communication training for specialists on the quality of their reply letters to general practitioners (GPs) about patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS).

Methods: Before randomization, specialists included ≤3 MUPS patients in a multi-center cluster-randomized trial. In 14h of MUPS-specific communication training, 2.

Stress management in dental students: a systematic review.

This study compared the effectiveness of stress management programs in dental education by systematic review of the literature. The number of studies concerning stress management programs for dental students is limited compared with studies discussing sources of stress. Several types of programs for stress management have been reported, and differ in their duration, content, and outcomes.

Development of the clinical learning evaluation questionnaire for undergraduate clinical education: factor structure, validity, and reliability study.

Background: Teaching and learning of clinical skills for undergraduate medical students usually takes place during the clinical clerkship. Therefore, it is of vital importance to ensure the effectiveness of the rotations within this clerkship. The aims of this study were to develop an instrument that measures the effectiveness of the clinical learning environment, to determine its factor structure, and to find first evidence for the reliability and validity of the total scale and the different factors.

Effect of year of study on stress levels in male undergraduate dental students.

Objective: Stress among dental students can be a significant threat, resulting in physical and/or mental illness, and have a negative effect on students' performance and the professional practice of dentistry. Stress can occur from different sources. The purpose of this study is to test whether the year of study has an effect on the stress levels of dental students.

Encounters between medical specialists and patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms; influences of communication on patient outcomes and use of health care: a literature overview.

Medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) burden patients and health services due to large quantities of consultations and medical interventions. The aim of this study is to determine which elements of communication in non-psychiatric specialist MUPS care influence health outcomes. Systematic search in PubMed, PsycINFO and Embase.

Barriers to feedback in undergraduate medical education. Male students' perspective in Central Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To explore the views of undergraduate medical students regarding the presence and sources of barriers to effective feedback in their setting.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine, Department of Medical Education, King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from April to June 2010. A self-administered questionnaire was used to explore the objectives of the study.

Randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy and intolerance-of-uncertainty therapy for generalized anxiety disorder.

This randomized controlled trial compared the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy (MCT) and intolerance-of-uncertainty therapy (IUT) for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in an outpatient context. Patients with GAD (N = 126) consecutively referred to an outpatient treatment center for anxiety disorder were randomly allocated to MCT, IUT, or a delayed treatment (DT) condition. Patients were treated individually for up to 14 sessions.

Generalized anxiety disorder: clinical presentation, diagnostic features, and guidelines for clinical practice.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a prevalent and disabling disorder characterised by persistent worrying, anxiety symptoms, and tension. General practitioners and mental healthcare professionals frequently misdiagnose the presenting symptoms. This article addresses the clinical presentation of GAD and provides guidelines for discriminating GAD from other disorders, based on theoretical considerations and clinical experience.

Factor structure of the Dutch version of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire.

The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) is a 16-item self-report scale for measuring the excessiveness and uncontrollability of worry. The current study examined the factor structure of the PSWQ in (1) a large community sample (N = 455), and (2) a clinical sample of patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; N = 102), the disorder for which worry is the key feature. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to test three models: (1) a one-factor model in which all items loaded on one and the same dimension, (2) a two-factor model in which positively and negatively worded items loaded on two separate but correlated factors, and (3) a one-factor model, that included the reverse items as a method factor.

A hierarchical model for the relationships between general and specific vulnerability factors and symptom levels of generalized anxiety disorder.

The present study examined a hierarchical model for the relationships between general and specific vulnerability factors and symptom manifestations of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A clinical sample of patients with GAD (N=137) completed a set of self-report questionnaires for measuring neuroticism, extraversion, intolerance of uncertainty, metacognitive beliefs, and symptoms of generalized anxiety (i.e.

Increase in counselling communication skills after basic and advanced microskills training.

Background: Mastering counselling communication skills is one of the requirements that lead to the diploma of a registered European psychologist. The microcounseling method proves to be effective in training these skills.

Aim: Research into the effectiveness of the microcounseling method often reports overall effect sizes only.

Quality of psychiatric referrals in Saudi Arabia. A structural equation modeling approach.

Objective: This study seeks to model proposed causal relationships between the quality of psychiatric referral letters, and its indicators, linked to the features of the referred patient, referring physician, and practice setting.

Methods: This study was executed at Buraidah Mental Health Hospital, Saudi Arabia, in the year 2000-2002. Data regarding 18 independent variables underlying 3 latent constructs and one dependent variable represented by quality of psychiatric referral letter score (outcome) was derived from patient files, physician training records, and 540 psychiatric referrals.

Longterm effects of problem-based learning: a comparison of competencies acquired by graduates of a problem-based and a conventional medical school.

Background: Problem-based learning (PBL) as an approach to the instruction of medical students has attracted much attention in recent years. However, its effect on the performance of its graduates is the subject of considerable debate. This article presents data from a large-scale study among graduates of a problem-based medical school and those of a conventional medical school to contribute to this discussion.

Effectiveness of a training programme for primary care physicians directed at the enhancement of their psychiatric knowledge in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: A substantial number of patients with psychiatric disorders consult primary care physicians for comprehensive health care; however, the diagnosis and effective treatment of psychiatric disorders are deficient in primary health care. The aim of this intervention study is to assess the pre- and post-psychiatric training knowledge of primary care physicians.

Method: The setting of this study was Buraidah Mental Health Hospital.

General practitioners pre and post training knowledge and attitude towards psychiatry.

Objective: General practitioners (GPs) often lack sufficient knowledge of psychiatric diagnoses and have unfavorable attitudes towards mental illness. The first aim of this intervention study is to assess the pre-and post-psychiatric training knowledge and attitudes of GPs. The second aim is to explore certain factors, which predict gain in knowledge and changes in attitude.

Quality assessment of health counseling: performance of health advisors in cardiovascular prevention.

Quality assessments of interventions are seen as essential in optimizing their implementation, interpreting their effectiveness, and illuminating their underlying processes. In Hartslag Limburg, a cardiovascular prevention project, the quality of a health counseling intervention was assessed as part of the process evaluation. Four health advisors each video-taped 16 counseling sessions, all of which were assessed by three independent observers.