Journal of general internal medicine
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Shared decision-making (SDM) is crucial in healthcare to facilitate effective communication between providers and patients, aiding in making optimal medical decisions. Communication skills training (CST) can improve physicians' ability in SDM. However, SDM CST for medical students in Taiwan is scarce, and research comparing online versus in-person CST outcomes is lacking. ⋯ This study has demonstrated that both online and face-to-face SDM CST effectively enhance the SDM decision-making proficiency and communication skills of medical students. The effectiveness of online CST is on par with face-to-face CST. It is recommended to use online CST when face-to-face classes are not feasible, especially during epidemics or budget constraints. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of these CST methods on students' skills, considering additional follow-up time points.
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As part of a continuing medical education activity, primary care physicians in Arizona were asked to draw how they feel about treating patients with chronic pain and addiction. Their drawings, complete with cliffs, walls, torn-out hair, and connected hearts, make for a harrowing look at burnout, angst, and empathy among physicians who treat this subset of patients. Public health and exercise facilitators were troubled, leading them to publish this essay along with a selection of the drawings that depict the feelings of the physicians who feel ill-prepared to treat this patient population, which is only growing in number and needs.