Background and objectives: Teaching competencies in communication are important for medical education, but implementation in the surgical curriculum is still deficient. Communication during informed consent is one main issue. The aim of the study was to implement a reproducible teaching module for informed consent, which closely represents reality.
Material and methods: In the existing practical surgical course we implemented a module for practising communication during surgical informed consent with the help of standardized patients and feedback rounds. The outcome was assessed during a clinical examination and the students evaluated the module.
Results: The module was evaluated by the students positively and deemed helpful for their later work as a doctor. The outcome at clinical examination was 63% (mean) for content and structure of the informed consent and 92% for competency in communication.
Conclusion: For improving the quality of informed consent, teaching competencies in communication during informed consent should be implemented in the curriculum of medical studies, but legal and content-based aspects should not be ignored.
Keywords: Communication; Informed consent; Medical conversation; Standardized patients; Surgical education.