Emotions in clinical practice : questions from an experiential pilot educational program with medical students

Introduction. The aim of this study was to describe the teaching methods of a 24-hour optional course for medical students about the management of emotions, and to asses its efficacy. Methods. The course was conducted with experiential teaching methods such as psycho-socio drama, self-biography, and Photolangage. The students’ opinion about the course was collected through a qualitative questionnaire. To assess the impact of the course on students’ performance pre-post training role plays were video recorded and analyzed. The videos were analysed through the RIAS, Roter Interaction Analysis System. Non verbal communication was assessed using a coding grid Findings. Twenty students participated. Their judgement of the programme was positive. Means differences between pre-post tests were not significant. However, the Disease and Give verbal categories and Sitting non verbal category increased in the post test. Psychosocial verbal category and Self Contact non verbal category decreased after the course. Discussion. The training focused on emotions’ management seems to be well received by medical students. Results suggest a non significant modification of the verbal and non verbal behavior. As the course was meant to change student’s attitudes toward their emotions, a question arise from our data regarding the evaluation tools available to assess a change in the way students are with patients and not only in how they behave.