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2 skills to help residents build better relationships with patients

An online training shows residents how to defuse a tense interaction and move on to providing prompt, effective and compassionate care.

| 4 Min Read

AMA News Wire

2 skills to help residents build better relationships with patients

Jul 15, 2025

In the effort to provide patients with both the art and science of medicine, it’s the art part—including communication, engagement and empathy—that can be the more challenging one to deliver.

Fortunately, the skills needed for better interactions with patients are teachable and testable in day-to-day encounters and can be improved upon with practice. A 14-minute module from the AMA takes a step-by-step approach, offering simulated patient encounter vignettes to illustrate best practices. 

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“Building the Patient-Physician Relationship” is just one of the AMA GME Competency Education Program offerings, which include more than 50 courses that residents can access online through their residency program’s subscription, on their own schedules. The program also features six faculty development courses.

The AMA GME Competency Education Program delivers education to help institutions more easily meet Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education common program requirements. Modules offer content in five of the six topics—patient care, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and system-based practice—within the core competency requirements. The sixth requirement, medical knowledge, is one that is typically addressed during clinical education.

Among the program’s experts are several who contributed to the AMA’s Health Systems Sciencetextbook, which draws insights from faculty at medical schools and residencies that are part of the Association’s ChangeMedEd initiative. 

Current program subscribers have access to award-winning online education designed for residents on the go. It’s easy to use and saves time with simple tracking and reporting tools for administrators. Learn more.

The pace and practical realities of modern health care, like wait times and coverage concerns, can start a patient-physician encounter on the wrong foot. It’s not just a question of a strained conversation. Ineffective communication can undermine the clinical effectiveness of a visit. Unfortunately, it’s also likely to be an area in which residents receive little training. 

The module highlights two special capabilities—active listening and generative listening—that will help physicians project engagement and interest in the patient’s concerns and overcome conflicts. The module also provides examples of verbal and nonverbal feedback to the patient.

“The patient interview is your most frequent procedure and is crucial to the care you provide,” notes the module. “Keep in mind that the patient is interviewing you as well. Perhaps not formally, but the patient is deciding what they feel about you.”

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The module also looks at why patients might be challenging—they may not be at their best mentally or physically—and, especially, what physicians can do about their own conduct in the face of someone who is anxious, frustrated and disgruntled.

“You can’t change people, but you can control your feelings and behavior,” counsels the module, which provides guidance on simple, highly actionable emotional grounding tips for physicians to work into their daily routines.

Upon completion of the course, the learner will be able to:

  • Define what makes an encounter challenging.
  • List key assumptions that medical professionals should make when treating patients.
  • Identify how a doctor’s emotional state affects the patient-physician interaction and relationship.
  • Explain why both satisfied and dissatisfied patients can be challenging.
  • Change their own approach for patients whom they typically find to be challenging. 

The module also provides additional learning resources.

Residency program directors have access to dashboards and reports that provide a view of progress at the program and institution levels. In addition, customizable reports make it easy to track learner performance and demonstrate compliance for accreditation.

The AMA GME Competency Education Program covers topics including well-being, quality improvement and patient safety, residents as teachers, navigating health systems, health equity, professionalism and faculty development. Schedule a meeting to discuss your organization’s needs.

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