Communication skill training (CST) for dental Interns

In the field of dentistry, knowledge and technical skills are not the only prerequisites for good practice. An ability to communicate effectively with patients in particular, to use active listening skills, to gather and impart information effectively, to handle patient emotions sensitively, and to demonstrate empathy, rapport, ethical awareness, and professionalism is crucial. In India “communication skills training (CST) for dental students” is not formally accepted in curriculum. The CST was conducted by the department of dental education technology of Govt. Dental College Nagpur for dental interns with an aim of assessment of relevance, and effect of communication skill training (CST) on dental interns. The objectives were to train dental interns of 2013-14 batch for communication skills by interactive sessions and to test knowledge gain by pre & post-test questionnaire. We observed that there is a definite gain by the participants in all aspects of communication skills i.e. verbal, nonverbal as well as written. There is increase in participants’ confidence level. Thus, formal education of psychology for verbal and nonverbal communication and training for written communication is a need and can become a bench mark in dental education if included in curriculum.