Motivational Interviewing Interventions in Graduate Medical Education: A Systematic Review of the Evidence

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Motivational interviewing (MI) is a patient-centered method of behavior change counseling. It has shown promise in enabling patients to identify and improve problem health behaviors. Incorporating MI education into residency training may be beneficial. OBJECTIVE: To review the current evidence regarding the impact of MI education in graduate medical education. RESULTS: Of the 9 studies of MI education in graduate medical education training, most noted favorable outcomes after MI education. Outcomes included improvements in residents' view of MI, MI skill use and competency, and resident satisfaction with MI interventions. Of the 5 studies that looked at residents' views of MI, 3 found improvements in resident assessments of the importance of and confidence in using MI. Of the 4 studies of MI skills, 3 reported improvements in residents' use of and competency in the MI skill. The quality of MI education in the graduate medical education literature is limited by overreliance on preintervention and postintervention analysis as a study design, the variable intensity of educational interventions, and limited use of validated assessment tools and quantitative outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: Review of the literature shows that MI education can be successfully implemented within the residency education environment. The intensity of MI interventions, coupled with experiential learning and feedback, correlated with favorable outcomes in terms of resident use of MI skills and resident satisfaction. Further study is needed to determine which MI skills are most effectively taught to residents, the impact of MI training on resident behavior in clinical settings, and the impact on clinical outcomes.