Abstract:

“Basic Communication Skills Training” (BCST) is among the objectives of DEUSM’s Year I programme. Implemented in the course of a semester by a team of trainers, this programme was revised in the light of student feedbacks, considering the difficulties in its implementation and its needs were considered and necessary corrections were made Student feedbacks, variations in feedbacks over the years and changes in the programme were evaluated in the study. The feedbacks of 321 students in the 2001-2004 periyod were evaluated. The student feedback form consists of three open-ended questions on trainers, training method and content, and a close-ended question in which students mark their opinions on the usefulness of the course. Forms were filled in anonymously. The general response rate was 72.3%. Over the years, considerable increases in the ratios of students who evaluated BCST as useful and very useful (60.0%, 78.5%, 87.9%) were found. The abundance of opinions and suggestions which may shed light to trainers, training method and content was noteworthy. In the light of the experiences of the training team and student feedbacks, necessary changes were made in the training method and materials, the number of trainers was increased and a new session titled “Effective Feedback Giving and Receiving” was added. It was thought that the implemented changes increased the efficiency of the course and the level of satisfaction related to it.

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