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Biomedical subjects

A D Poole

Publications and source records attributed to A D Poole.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1980

Simulated patients and the assessment of medical students' interpersonal skills.

While the use of simulated patients for the assessement of medical students' skills is increasing there is little data on whether students perform differently vs real patients. The present study examined this issue using second-year medical students' ability to empathize with simulated and genuine patients. Forty second-year students each conducted two interviews which were audio-recorded and later rated by raters who had achieved a high degree of reliability using the 9-point accurate empathy scale (Truax, 1967). Ten students saw a genuine patient for each interview while ten students saw simulators on both occasions. Of the remaining twenty students, ten saw genuine patients at the first interview and simulated patients at the second session. This order was reversed for the remaining ten students. No significant differences were found in the levels of empathy between students' interaction with genuine or simulated patients. As the students were also unable to discriminate between the two groups of patients it was concluded that simulators represent a viable procedure given the skill to be assessed in the present research and the experience of the students.

Communication↗
PubMed1980

An empirical method for determining an appropriate interval length for recording behavior.

The study sought to examine the effects of varying interval length on the representation of data obtained using modified frequency time sampling. A 7-category scale was used to observe reliably the behavior of eight psychiatric inpatients. Using electronic real time recording equipment, it was possible to computer analyze the obtained data at varying interval lengths, the shortest interval being 1.0 seconds. It was found that increasing the interval length had little effect on the percentage of total duration recorded within each behavioral category, suggesting that this is a relatively stable measure of behavior. Percentage total events for each category was less stable with increasing interval lengths. The number of recorded events within each category tended to decrease, while their average durations tended to increase, as a function of increasing the interval length. The data suggest that the current practice of determining interval length in an arbitrary fashion, or on the basis of convention, should be abandoned. Rather, such a decision should be empirically determined for each particular observation scale and subject group. One method by which this might be achieved is presented.

Behavior Therapy↗
PubMed1978

Training medical students to empathize: an experimental study.

Research has indicated that patients are greatly concerned about the poor quality of doctors' interpersonal communication skills, but such training is infrequently incorporated into medical education. An experimental study, which used a commercially available training programme, is described. Undergraduate medical students were the subjects of the study, and their ability to empathize was assessed in the actual interview. Results indicated that training was effective in increasing the students' levels of empathy.

Australia↗
PubMed1978

A behavioural programme for the management of anorexia nervosa.

A treatment programme, based on the use of behavioural principles, is described. Important components of programme include the active participation of the patient in all phases of treatment planning, the use of contingent reinforcement for weight gain rather than eating behaviour, the provision of frequent feedback regarding progress and the lowering of the "response cost" for eating. In addition contracting, and the use of random scheduling of follow-up contacts, along with family therapy, are employed to maintain weight gain following discharge. The results achieved with an initial group of 5 female patients are briefly discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

A further attempt to cross-validate the grid test of schizophrenic thought disorder.

A retrospective investigation to assess the validity of the Grid Test of Schizophrenic Thought Disorder (Bannister & Fransella, 1966, 1967) is reported. Analysis of the data revealed that, while there is some evidence to support the validity of the test, it failed to discriminate between clinically assessed thought-disordered and non-thought-disordered patients at an acceptable level of significance, and that the rate of misclassification was too high to justify the use of the test in the assessment of an individual case. The results are compared with the findings of other published studies, and weaknesses in methodology, due to the retrospective nature of the study, are also discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term effects of empathy training on the interview skills of medical students.

A study examining the effects of empathy training, three years after completion of the program, is reported. The results indicate that, while the students' ability to empathize declines significantly with time, their level of skill is still higher than that of students who receives no training and are at a comparable stage in their medical education. The findings provide further support for requiring a continuing emphasis on training undergraduates in communication skills throughout their medical curriculum.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗