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Mastery Learning in Communication Skills

Mastery Learning in Communication Skills to Improve Milestone Performance and Burnout

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05979090
Enrollment
80
Registered
2023-08-07
Start date
2023-01-18
Completion date
2030-01-01
Last updated
2026-07-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Burnout, Professional, Communication, Personal, Communication Research

Brief summary

The goal of this study is to determine whether mastery learning in communication skills can improve skills in a simulated environment and have translational improvements in outcomes. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does mastery learning improve skills in the simulation laboratory? 2. Does mastery learning improve clinical skills as seen by milestone performance? and 3 Does mastery learning improve burnout levels? The study is a multi-institutional randomized controlled trial of anesthesiology residents from five different residency programs. Participants will be randomized to mastery training in communication skills and standard of care, which is vicarious learning. Researchers will compare these two groups to see if mastery learning improves skills and translational outcomes.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALMastery learning in communication skills

Participants will undergo simulation-based mastery learning curriculum in difficult conversations.

Sponsors

Heather Ballard
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
20 Years to 60 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Anesthesiology residents rotating at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Exclusion criteria

* Participant refusal * Study participants who have already undergone the mastery learning in difficult conversations course.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Communication skillsone yearPost test checklist skills scores, a 16-item checklist was developed using the modified Delphi technique with possible scores of 0 (lowest) to 16 (highest). All items in the checklist are graded dichotomously and (1 if done correctly and 0 if not done or done incorrectly.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Milestones Performancetwo yearsThe ACGME interpersonal and communication core competency is subdivided into three Anesthesiology Milestones: Patient and Family-centered communication, Interprofessional and Team Communication, and Communication within Health Care Systems. Each milestone is graded on a score of 1 (novice) to 5 (expert) by each residency program's Clinical Competency Committee (CCC).
Burnout levels1.5 yearsThe Maslach Burnout Inventory Scale (MBI-9) will be used to estimate the levels of burnout prior to participation in the intervention, immediately after course completion, and at 2 and 6 months after training. The MBI is a measure of job burnout defined by three subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE) (9 items), depersonalization (DP) (5 items), and professional accomplishment (PA) (8 items), each with 7-point Likert-type, frequency response scale (0 = never, 1 = a few times a year or less, 2 = once a month or less, 3 = a few times a month, 4 = once a week, 5 = a few times a week, 6 = every day) \[1, 2\]. Scales are scored such that higher scores indicate more of each construct. Higher scores on the EE and DP subscales indicate a higher burnout symptom burden; lower scores on the PA subscale indicate a higher burnout symptom burden.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTHeather Ballard, MD
hballard@luriechildrens.org3122275170
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORHeather Ballard, MD

Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 11, 2026