Motivational Interviewing: A High-Yield Interactive Session for Medical Trainees and Professionals to Help Tobacco Users Quit

Abstract

Introduction: Motivational interviewing (MI) is a collaborative patient-focused counseling technique that is effective in promoting smoking cessation but is not consistently taught/practiced in training. Methods: This training session was implemented in a pediatric residency training program and also given four times to pediatric practitioners as part of a 2-day tobacco training sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Pediatric residents (N = 33) participated in a 1-hour interactive session focused on addressing tobacco. Knowledge was assessed with pre- and 6-month postsurveys. Retention of skills was evaluated between 6 and 9 months posttraining by resident performance on two scenarios with standardized patients, which was scored utilizing the Behavior Change Counseling Index (BECCI), by two MI-trained physicians. AAP trainees (N = 115) participated in tobacco trainings with a session dedicated to MI; sessions were evaluated by pre- and posttests. Results: Residents who completed the session (n = 12) performed significantly better on eight of 10 items of the BECCI and on the overall BECCI score (p