Implementation of a curriculum on communicating diagnostic uncertainty for clerkship-level medical students: a pseudorandomized and controlled study

Abstract

Objectives: Physicians rarely receive formal training on communicating diagnostic uncertainty to patients. Best practices in timing and educational strategies are not established. We aimed to develop, implement and assess a curriculum on communicating uncertainty for medical students.

Methods: This was a pseudorandomized and controlled study. Students on their Internal Medicine Clerkship during the study period from February to August 2023 were invited to participate and separated into control and intervention groups based on assigned rotation site. Students in the intervention group received a curriculum on communicating diagnostic uncertainty. All students completed a subscale of the Physicians' Reaction to Uncertainty Scale (PRUS) at the beginning of their clerkship and at the end of week 4 and an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) at the end of week 4.

Results: Fifty-four students participated in the curriculum (29 intervention, 25 control). Intervention group students scored 2.13 points higher than control group students on their skills assessment (mean OSCE for intervention group=14.3, control group=12.17, p<0.001). PRUS increased in both groups, indicating improved tolerance of uncertainty, with no significant difference in change in PRUS between groups (mean change in PRUS for intervention group=2.68, control group=4.82, p=0.33). 97.7 % of students agreed that a curriculum on uncertainty should be included in their medical training.

Conclusions: Students who participated in a curriculum on communication of uncertainty demonstrated superior skills in communicating uncertainty during their OSCE. There was a significant increase in PRUS indicating decreased stress associated with uncertainty for all students. This may reflect high levels of baseline stress associated with starting a clerkship, maturation, exposure to cases, or role-modeling by the clinical team.

Keywords: communication; curriculum; medical education; uncertainty.