Evidence on long-term retention and transfer of clinical communication skills to clinical practice remained inconsistent or lacking across included reviews¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · checked against its sources 2026-10-31 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Evidence regarding long-term retention, empathy development, non-verbal communication, and transfer to clinical practice remained inconsistent across reviews; most reviews reported outcomes primarily in the short term. → Kalmring M 2026

Evidence¶

Kalmring M 2026¶

Kalmring M, Chmelar S, Greimel P, Kaider M, Lang C, Roszipal B. (2026). Teaching clinical communication skills through virtual patient-based learning: an umbrella review of systematic reviews. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-09374-6

q2 · i? · review · r3

Narrative synthesis in the Discussion contrasting two included reviews' retention findings: the review reports Jensen et al. found a lack of sustained effects while Richardson et al. identified retention over several months that declined over time.

"Evidence regarding skill retention was inconsistent: whereas Jensen et al. [18] reported a lack of sustained effects, Richardson et al. [34] identified retention over several months, although this declined over time."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Communication Skills — outcome: instruction changes it
• Long-Term Memory — outcome: instruction changes it

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