(PS4-82) Using Behavior Skills Training to Teach Compassionate Care Skills to Medical Students

While mastering technical skills specific to healthcare is prioritized in training, soft skills such as compassion and empathy are needed to foster positive patient-practitioner relationships. Soft skills may be difficult to teach, and many view these skills as innate. However, once operationally defined, these skills can be explicitly taught using the principles of applied behavioral analysis (ABA). The present study used Behavior Skills Training (BST), an ABA intervention, to teach compassionate care skills to two cohorts of first year medical students enrolled in a health advocacy practicum course at a large urban university. This study was a systematic replication of a study originally conducted by Roher & Weiss (2022), which taught compassionate care skills to master’s level ABA graduate students. Several adaptations were made to tailor the training to the needs of first year medical students. Target skills were selected based on indicators of compassionate care across the literature and aligned with portions of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies. Eight skills were measured and trained, divided into three skill sets. Skill Set 1 (Basic Interviewing Skills) included four skills: (1) tell the caregiver you are taking notes; (2) nodding; (3) backchannel; and (4) positive introduction. Skillset Set 2 (Joining with the Patient) included two skills: (1) making an empathy statement; and (2) partnering. Skill Set 3 (Treatment Collaboration) included two skills: (1) explanation of the rationale for recommended treatment; and (2) providing opportunities for patient participation. N=4 medical students completed the intervention. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline across skillset design was used to evaluate the effects of the BST package on medical student’s performance of compassionate care skills when conducting a telehealth appointment with a mock patient. The baseline, BST, and posttest phases were conducted in a single day. Pre and post generalization probes during patient interactions in the natural environment were collected for n=2 medical students, 1-2 weeks before baseline and after post-test, respectively. Participant responding was evaluated across one training context and one baseline/post-test context. Interobserver agreement (IOA) for medical student baseline, rehearsal, and post-test trials was collected. Mean IOA was 99%. The procedural integrity of the BST intervention was 100%. All medical students who completed the training acquired all skills to fidelity. The n=2 medical students whom pre and post generalization probes were collected displayed successful generalization of the skills to the natural environment post-BST. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy measure was administered to the medical students pre and post BST, indicating stable or slight increases in empathy ratings after completing the training. A social validity survey was completed by medical students post-training, unanimously indicating confidence in conducting compassionate care with patients, thinking more objectively about interpersonal skills, and recommendation of this training to other future healthcare professionals.