Juul Houwen, MD, PhD (c)
Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands)
I am a general practitioner (GP) in the Netherlands and perform my PhD project simultaneously (periods in clinical practice alternate with those in which I do research). The aim of our study is to develop an evidence-based communication training program for GP residents in managing patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), which is also acceptable for patients. I expect to finish my PhD project about one year. In order to develop this training program, we performed qualitative studies in which patients with MUS and GPs reflected on their own video-recorded consultation (stimulated recall). Next, we performed a focus group with MUS experts and teachers in which we explored the most important learnable communication elements. Based on these findings and a literature study, we developed a training program for GP residents. We implemented and evaluated the training program by measuring GP residents’ self-efficacy and by exploring their experiences.
