| Background Effective physician-patient communication skills are as important to medical care as clinical expertise [1, 2]. The same is true for dentist-patient communication [3–۷]. It is known that good physician/dentist-patient communication can lead to a reduction in patient anxiety, and increase factors such as patient satisfaction and adherence to healthy behaviors [8, 9]. Thus, successful physician/dentist-patient communication is increasingly becoming a central learning objective at medical schools in Germany. Competency frameworks such as the German National Competence-based Learning Objective Catalogue for Undergraduate Medical Education (NKLM) and the German National Competencebased Learning Objective Catalogue for Undergraduate Dental Education (NKLZ) have been designed to ensure quality standards in regard to medical and dental education. Within this framework, communication is described as a main competency [10]. To ensure the necessary time to practice skills, many schools have established courses with an emphasis on communication [6, 11–۱۳]. At the Medical Faculty of Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg, Germany, medical students take part in a longitudinal communication training that also encompasses training with simulated patients [14]. From the very first semester onward during the pre-clinical phase up until the end of the clinical phase of studies, students are required to attend courses, seminars and tutorials with a focus on physician-patient communication. However, communication training for dental students usually does not start until the clinical phase of studies. One opportunity for dental students to attend dentist/physician communication training during the pre-clinical phase of studies is if they are planning to obtain a dual degree of dentistry and medicine. In that case, dual degree seekers have to attend courses and seminars in medical psychology and sociology in addition to their regular class load. One major concern of these seminars and courses and sociology is the teaching of successful patient-centered communication. Within the context of the current amendment of study regulations at this medical school, the authors of this article argue that it is crucial that students of dentistry should also receive the opportunity to attend some type of training with a focus on communication early on during the pre-clinical part of dental studies. After all, the many benefits of a course curriculum that focuses on soft skills such as communication and self-awareness have been established in the past [15], and the current literature provides much information on the positive effect of structured communication training on dental students’ communication skills [13, 16, 17]. Some courses may even have the potential to influence students’ attitudes towards the subject [11]. |
