Graduate supervisors in general practice are responsible for the important task of training future general practice professionals, so their abilities to communicate with patients are essential for the development of general practice.

To examine the abilities to communicate with patients in supervisors of master's students in general practice during outpatient encounters.

Seventy-five supervisors of master's students in general practice from Capital Medical University were selected by use of cluster sampling to receive a survey using a self-developed demographic questionnaire conducted from April to June 2022. Then their doctor-patient communication skills during outpatient encounters were assessed by relevant professionals who participated in the whole encounter process as accompaniers using the SEGUE Framework. The total score and dimension scores of SEGUE Framework of these supervisors were compared with those of outpatient specialists in tertiary hospitals and general practitioners (GPs) in community health centers (CHCs) in our previous studies, and were compared across these supervisors by sex, employment method and level of medical institutions. Then the total score of SEGUE Framework was compared between the supervisors and US GPs.

The total score of SEGUE Framework attained by the supervisors ranged from 12 to 24 points, and the average score was (17.8±2.6) . The average scores of five dimensions (set the stage, elicit information, give information, understand the patient's perspective, and end the encounter) obtained by them were (3.9±0.9) , (6.5±1.7) , (3.1±1.1) , (2.6±0.9) and (1.7±0.5) , respectively. These supervisors scored higher on dimensions of set the stage and end the encounter than GPs in CHCs and outpatient specialists in tertiary hospitals (P<0.05) . Compared with their counterparts working in primary hospitals, supervisors working in secondary hospitals scored lower on the SEGUE Framework and set the stage dimension (P<0.05) , and those working in tertiary hospitals scored lower on the SEGUE Framework and set the stage and elicit information dimensions (P<0.05) . These supervisor scored lower on the SEGUE Framework than the US GPs (P<0.05) .

There is still considerable room for improvement of the skills for communicating with patients in outpatient encounters in these supervisors. Their level of communication skills was still lower than that of US GPs. In view of this, the teaching management department responsible for general practice department (school) should pay attention to the training of the abilities of master supervisors to communicate with patients, thereby improving the level of medical humanities in practice in master's students in general practice by supervisors' words and deeds.