Anger De-escalation: A Standardized Patient Workshop for Third- and Fourth-Year Medical Students
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: Introduction: During clinical training, medical students frequently encounter angry patients and loved ones but feel inadequately prepared to de-escalate these encounters. This unpreparedness might contribute to feelings of shame and anger among medical students and burnout among practicing physicians. Challenging patient scenarios abound in the standardized patient (SP) literature, but no published didactic tool exists focusing exclusively on identification and nonpharmaceutical management of patient anger with a target audience of senior medical students. Methods: = 311) completed a presurvey prior to the workshop and a postsurvey immediately after. One hundred ninety students also completed a summative postworkshop observed structured teaching exercise. Results: < .001). Discussion: Equipping students with evidence-based communicative strategies like the NURSE mnemonic improves their confidence in angry patient/family encounters and helps them more effectively appraise appropriate communication strategies in those encounters. This workshop may protect against feelings of shame and anger and augment self-efficacy in students' transition to clinical duties.
Source: MedEdPORTAL
Institutions: University of Kentucky, Lexington VA Health Care System
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4408316315