Training healthcare students to be competent communication partners: a scoping review

People with acquired neurogenic Communication Disorders (PwCD) experience reduced satisfaction in healthcare environments, possibly relating to communication difficulties. Communication Partner Training might improve communication success. The purpose of the scoping review was to map the literature about educational experiences in teaching communication strategies to healthcare students (HcS) interacting with PwCD. The Arksey and O’Malley framework for Scoping Reviews and further enhancements were followed. Studies published from 1998 were identified from eight electronic databases (CINHAL, PubMed, Embase, PsychINFO, Pedro, SpeechBite, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate) and separately screened by two evaluators. Twenty-seven articles were included. Studies reported four structured training programmes (SCATM, Connect, FRAME, and Training Con-tAct) and unstructured methods. HcS were mainly studying medicine, speech-language pathology, or occupational therapy. The most common communication disorder was aphasia. Key contents included lectures, role-playing/interaction with real or simulated PwCD, video examples, and feedback. The articles reported improvements in both HcS’s knowledge and skills in communication strategies, suggesting that training programmes are promising, although they need further exploration. Priorities for future studies are the inclusion of a wider variety of communication disorders and HcS, and common consensus on key learning outcomes and their assessment. ‘Staff-patient communication’ difficulties have a negative impact on both People with acquired neurogenic Communication Disorders (PwCD) and their healthcare providers.Providing healthcare students with knowledge and skills to support communication with PwCD during their initial education could improve communication success in the future.The present scoping review maps available programmes and previous experiences in training healthcare students, and suggests priorities for future research. ‘Staff-patient communication’ difficulties have a negative impact on both People with acquired neurogenic Communication Disorders (PwCD) and their healthcare providers. Providing healthcare students with knowledge and skills to support communication with PwCD during their initial education could improve communication success in the future. The present scoping review maps available programmes and previous experiences in training healthcare students, and suggests priorities for future research.