Improving interprofessional communication skills among healthcare providers: a quasi-experimental design evaluating a clinical improvisation training program

Effective interprofessional communication among healthcare teams is integral for the function of health systems. We sought to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of clinical improvisation training in improving interprofessional communication skills among practicing providers, and to identify factors contributing to training success. We used a quasi-experimental wait-list design (intervention group n = 62; control group n = 66) to evaluate the effects of a clinical improvisational training program on interprofessional communication skills using validated baseline surveys and follow-up surveys several months later. Both groups included physicians and advanced practice nurses from various departments in a single academic medical institution. Statistical analysis was focused on examining changes in communication skills between groups and on contributors to communication change in the intervention group. Within-person changes indicated that communication skills significantly modestly improved from baseline to follow-up for the intervention group but not for the control group. Among the intervention group, we observed a significant interaction between excitement about the training and uncertainty tolerance in predicting improvement in communication skills. Clinical improvisation is likely to be effective in improving interprofessional communication skills among practicing healthcare workers. Increasing excitement about the clinical improvisation training programs and reducing uncertainty about it could bolster the success of these programs.