Mastery Learning in Communication Skills

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this study is to determine whether mastery learning in communication skills can improve skills in a simulated environment and have translational improvements in outcomes. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does mastery learning improve skills in the simulation laboratory? 2. Does mastery learning improve clinical skills as seen by milestone performance? and 3 Does mastery learning improve burnout levels? The study is a multi-institutional randomized controlled trial of anesthesiology residents from five different residency programs. Participants will be randomized to mastery training in communication skills and standard of care, which is vicarious learning. Researchers will compare these two groups to see if mastery learning improves skills and translational outcomes.

Official Title
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Mastery Learning in Communication Skills to Improve Milestone Performance and Burnout

Conditions
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Communication Research, Communication, Personal, Burnout, Professional

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Mastery learning in communication skills


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Anesthesiology residents rotating at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Exclusion Criteria: Participant refusal Study participants who have already undergone the mastery learning in difficult conversations course.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 20 Years
Maximum Age: 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Quadruple


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Mastery Learning Group<br> | Behavioral: Mastery learning in communication skills<br>* Participants will undergo simulation-based mastery learning curriculum in difficult conversations.<br>|
| No Intervention: Standard of Care Group<br> | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Communication skills | Post test checklist skills scores, a 16-item checklist was developed using the modified Delphi technique with possible scores of 0 (lowest) to 16 (highest). All items in the checklist are graded dichotomously and (1 if done correctly and 0 if not done or done incorrectly. | one year | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Milestones Performance | The ACGME interpersonal and communication core competency is subdivided into three Anesthesiology Milestones: Patient and Family-centered communication, Interprofessional and Team Communication, and Communication within Health Care Systems. Each milestone is graded on a score of 1 (novice) to 5 (expert) by each residency program's Clinical Competency Committee (CCC). | two years | 
| Burnout levels | The Maslach Burnout Inventory Scale (MBI-9) will be used to estimate the levels of burnout prior to participation in the intervention, immediately after course completion, and at 2 and 6 months after training. The MBI is a measure of job burnout defined by three subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE) (9 items), depersonalization (DP) (5 items), and professional accomplishment (PA) (8 items), each with 7-point Likert-type, frequency response scale (0 = never, 1 = a few times a year or less, 2 = once a month or less, 3 = a few times a month, 4 = once a week, 5 = a few times a week, 6 = every day) [1, 2]. Scales are scored such that higher scores indicate more of each construct. Higher scores on the EE and DP subscales indicate a higher burnout symptom burden; lower scores on the PA subscale indicate a higher burnout symptom burden. | 1.5 years |