ArticleBMC medical education2026
Pilot of a blended learning model on medical students' communication skills in the context of digital innovations.
Article in BMC medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEffective physician-patient communication is essential for high-quality medical care. However, digital transformation and the increasing use of tools based on artificial intelligence (AI) require new competencies that are not yet systematically integrated into medical curricula. Blended learning formats may offer a promising approach to addressing both patient-centered and technology-related communication skills.
methodsIn this pilot study, sixth- and eighth-semester medical students (n = 6) participated in an NKLM-based blended learning elective course. The course combined H5P online modules on narrative and AI-related communication with face-to-face sessions involving standardized patients and structured feedback. A mixed-methods evaluation was conducted to assess feasibility and explore learning outcomes. This included a pre-post questionnaire assessing subjective competence gains and an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) comparing intervention participants with a control group.
resultsThe blended learning format was successfully implemented and completed by participating students. Pre-post analyses showed increases across all assessed domains, with larger absolute gains in competencies related to digital innovations than in narrative communication skills. In the OSCE, communication competencies were generally demonstrated across both groups, with the largest performance differences observed in AI-related counselling tasks and consultation closing.
conclusionsThis pilot study supports the feasibility and acceptability of the integrated blended learning course. Exploratory findings suggest potential benefits for both narrative and digital communication competencies, with the strongest gains observed in digital communication competencies. These findings highlight the need to integrate AI- and technology-related communication skills more systematically into medical curricula. Given the exploratory design and small sample size, results should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.