Calvin Chou, MD
Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

415-221-4810 ext. 22740

When people ask me what I do for a living, and I reply “I’m a general internist, and I teach bedside manner,” the response nearly always is a variation on how much it is needed, followed by a story of ineffective communication from a clinician to themselves or a family member.

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Patient-provider communication is an area of fundamental clinical competence that has become increasingly recognized as a critical component of medical education. Unfortunately, interviewing skills of medical students and residents decline throughout their training. The paucity of effective curricula to address this basic educational need has been cited as a cause for these disturbing national trends. My goal as a leader in medical education is to develop and refine teaching of patient-provider communication, to expand its importance by training other educators across the country, and to begin to link communication skills teaching with patient outcomes.

To further develop my own interviewing and teaching skills, in 2003 I completed a rigorous four-year training program with the Academy on Communication in Healthcare (ACH), an organization of nationally prominent educators and researchers in patient-physician communication. Now as a faculty member of the ACH, every year I teach participants from all health professions in the ACH ENRICH national faculty development course. I have also facilitated workshops on communication skills at prominent medical centers across the country, including the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Stanford University, and New York University, where I consistently garner top ratings from learners as an effective teacher and facilitator.

In developing the VALOR (VA Longitudinal Rotations) Program for UCSF third-year medical students, I have incorporated weekly sessions for third-year students on basic clinical skill-building, self-reflection on personal and professional development, and observations on hidden curricular issues. I am optimistic that these changes will enhance patient care and humanize the occasionally oppressive culture of medicine.

Finally, as Academy Chair for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at UCSF, my charge is to demonstrate how education can lead to patient outcomes. It is my conviction that by training physicians and students in effective communication skills, they can not only motivate patients to take charge of their health issues, but also create effective interdisciplinary teams to reduce medical errors.

Awards

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  • Class of 2021 Excellence in Teaching for Clinical Faculty Award, UCSF, 2021
  • Federal Employee of the Year (as part of the Disaster Response Mental Health Team), Federal Executive Board, San Francisco, 2020
  • Choice Critics Award, Medical Education (journal), 2020
  • Healthcare Communication Teaching Excellence Award, Academy of Communication in Healthcare, 2019
  • Lynn Payer Award, Academy of Communication in Healthcare, 2018
  • Academy Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, UCSF, 2011
  • Fellow, Academy of Communication in Healthcare, 2010
  • Class of 2010 Award for Outstanding Teaching, UCSF, 2010
  • Inducted to Alpha Omega Alpha, UCSF, 2010
  • Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Inpatient Setting, UCSF, 2008
  • Inducted to Academy of Medical Educators, UCSF, 2002

Education & Training

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  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training University of California 2017
  • Faculty in Training Program Academy of Communication in Healthcare 2003
  • Residency Internal Medicine University of California, San Francisco 06/1997
  • M.D. Medicine Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons 05/1994
  • Ph.D. Microbiology Columbia University 05/1992
  • B.S. Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry Yale University 05/1985

Websites

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Publications (58)

Top publication keywords:
EmpathyEducation, Medical, UndergraduateRemedial TeachingEducation, MedicalTeachingClinical CompetenceStaff DevelopmentCurriculumCommunicationPhysical ExaminationNegotiatingPeer GroupClinical ClerkshipPhysician-Patient RelationsStudents, Medical

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