Effect of a conflict management workshop with simulated mediation and mock court proceedings: a mixed-methods study

Abstract

Background: Inadequate medicolegal training contributes to physician anxiety and defensive medicine practices. To address this issue, we implemented a novel pedagogical approach incorporating simulated mediation and mock court proceedings into a medical course to enhance medicolegal competency among medical students. Methods: This study was conducted in August 2022 that recruited medical students preparing for clinical rotations. Students completed a 4-part 150-minute workshop that covered simulated mediation, mock court, debriefing, and reflection sessions. During the simulated mediation session, the participants watched expert-recorded videos of different medical mediation perspectives, followed by small-group discussions with real-time feedback. During the mock court session, a judge-led multidisciplinary expert group demonstrated actual litigation process. Data were collected by using an online questionnaire, including structured and semi-structured items. Results: For quantitative analysis, 157 valid responses were analyzed and the questionnaire had satisfactory internal consistency. Quantitative analysis revealed significant improvements in medicolegal knowledge, empathy, and physician–patient communication, with postworkshop mean scores being significantly higher than preworkshop scores. Participant feedback indicated high satisfaction levels, with 66.9% of participants endorsing the effectiveness of simulations for learning. Qualitative analysis of 113 student reflections identified 3 themes: medicolegal competencies, mutual engagement in communication, and legal and professional reflections. Conclusions: This brief conflict management workshop using simulated mediation and mock court proceedings effectively enhanced medical students’ perceived medicolegal knowledge, empathy, and dispute resolution skills. However, students’ unfamiliarity with legal terminology highlighted learning barriers that require interdisciplinary collaboration with legal professionals. Integrating such simulations with legal expert involvement in future medicolegal education is recommended.