Improving patient-centred medicine : a preliminary experience for teaching communication skills to Italian general practitioners

INTRODUCTION: A key concept for general practice nowadays is that of patient-centred medicine. In this model the physician's aim is to integrate the patient's experience of illness with the conventional understanding of disease, trying to reconcile the patient's agenda with his/her own. This paper describes a preliminary experience of a CME course on patient-centred medicine in Italy. AIM AND METHODS: The article focuses on a 7 hour course for teaching patient-centred medicine to Italian general practitioners. Assessment of the course was done both in terms of learner satisfaction and efficacy. Learner satisfaction was evaluated by a questionnaire with a 6-point Likert scale and course efficacy by a pre/post-paper-and-pencil test. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: The pilot course on patient-centred medicine seems to obtain high satisfaction in participants. Furthermore, an increase in competence with regards to patient-centeredness resulted after the course. The pilot study represents the first Italian CME seminar on patient-centered medicine. Results obtained both in terms of satisfaction and efficacy suggest that the CME course is a valid educational tool. The opportunity to extend the experience to a higher number of participants is therefore recommended.