Primary physicians' self assessed communication ability: Is it associated with smoking too? (Poster).

Introduction: The ability to communicate well is a competence that is essential for effective medical interactions and positive patient outcomes. What are its correlates? Is this ability associated with factors that are not directly related to social and professional interactions? We sought to uncover associations between primary physicians' self- assessed communication ability and a variety of personal, psycho-social and occupational factors. Method: 13 primary care physicians, working in community clinics in one HMO in Israel; 31.6% females and 68.4% males; with average age of 52; responded to a questionnaire that included burnout (Maslach Burnout Index), psychological-medical ability and sensitivity (PMI), personal details and a variety of job related factors. The ability to communicate was assessed on a single 10-point scale. Results: The ability to communicate was correlated positively with: age and smoking status (older physicians and smokers reported higher self - assessed ability), positive work features, PMI, high personal accomplishment (one of the burnout syndrome dimensions), and job satisfaction. It correlated negatively with depersonalization (another burnout index) and the number of work hours per week. In a multiple regression analysis we found that above and beyond these factors, communication ability was predicted significantly by personal accomplishment and smoking status (R2= .42, p