Design and implementation of a clinical communication skills training course for dental students at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Background: Given the importance of communication skills education in medical sciences and the need for an appropriate curriculum for clinical education, this study aimed to design and implement a clinical communication skills curriculum for third-year dental students at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences.Method: This action research study included 60 third-year dental students. The educational program was developed based on the Communication Skills Training-3 Elements Model and Instructional Development Institute (IDI) model. Interactive student-centered teaching methods were designed by including team-based teaching, group discussion, action-based interactive lectures, role-playing, and multimedia application strategies. The course was delivered over 18 sessions, each 90 minutes long, by communication skills and dentistry professors, as a workshop-based course worth 1 credit in the fifth semester of the general dentistry program. The students were evaluated regarding their knowledge and skills at the end of the course.Results: Most of the expected communication skills, including starting the session and establishing a connection, gathering data, considering the patient’s perspective, providing information, mutual agreement, and ending the session were at a good level after the implementation of this program. Female students performed better than their male counterparts in various communication aspects, although statistically significant differences were only observed for the skills of providing information, mutual agreement, and ending the session (P=0.032).Conclusion: Using this clinical communication skills course for dental students can be beneficial, and with further studies in this field and examining its effectiveness in more dental schools, it can be presented to other dental schools as well.