The impact of a “Back to Bedside” initiative on resident education

Background: Back to Bedside is an American Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) sponsored program with the goal of giving trainees a chance to find deeper meaning in their clinical work. As technological advances have decreased the amount of time trainees are spending with patients, a program was started that gives residents the opportunity to explore their patient interaction and communication skills. Observations: Residents spent one week on an elective during which they had uninterrupted time during ten patient encounters and were able to address multiple factors. They assisted with goals of care discussions, education on illness, education on medications, and practiced their communication skills.Conclusion: Thirty-one residents participated and completed a survey after the elective. This elective proved to be of great benefit to residents in many areas. They found personal growth in their ability to communicate medical findings in an easy-to-understand format, an improvement in general communication skills, and an improvement in understanding routine and complex pathology. As effective communication is key to patient safety, this study proves that communication curricula can improve physician-patient interactions. Keywords: Communication, medical education, medical curriculum