Table 1 Survey of New Internal Medicine Faculty at Mayo Clinic to Assess Self-Rated Competency and Adequacy of Training in Physician-Patient Communication*

1. Please rate your overall competence in medical interviewing (1 = not competent, 10 = highly competent)

2. How important is the medical interview in your practice? (1 = not important, 10 = very important)

3. How confident are you in your ability to successfully handle communication in each of the following scenarios? (1 = not confident, 10 = very confident)

4. How adequate was the training you received during medical school, residency, and/or fellowship in preparing you to successfully handle communication in each of the following scenarios? (1 = inadequate, 10 = excellent)

Scenarios

a. The patient who makes excessive demands for tests and/or treatments

b. Counseling the overweight patient with medical complications due to obesity for whom treatments of obesity failed in the past

c. Informing a young woman with a new breast mass that the biopsy shows cancer

d. A patient's spouse who is demanding and hostile during the interview

e. The patient with somatoform disorder who presents with a long list of problems and extensive medical records

f. The patient with chronic pain who is taking multiple narcotics and refuses psychiatric evaluation

g. The patient who has been kept waiting an hour or more beyond the appointment time

h. The patient whose cultural background is significantly different from yours