What do they think of it now? Medical graduates' views of earlier training in communication skills

This study surveyed medical graduates' views of the communication skills course they experienced as students and their perception of the course's usefulness once they had become medical graduates. Ninety-six recent medical graduates and house surgeons completed a questionnaire designed to gauge opinions about the various components of the course they had completed one to seven years previously. Results indicated that the course overall was perceived to be more useful once respondents had become practising doctors (Wilcoxon signed-ranks test p < 0.0001). The advantages and disadvantages of early and late evaluations of courses in communication skills are discussed, potentially useful outcomes identified and limitations acknowledged.