Communication skills Flashcards
Benefits of good communications skills:
- Meaningful and trustworthy relationship between doctors and patients
- Better understanding of patient`s problems
- Useful in managing difficult clinical encounters
- Decrease work stress
- Increases job satisfaction
- Improves patient`s level of satisfaction
- Increases compliance to the advices given by the doctor - Positive impact on patient`s psychology, mental health, tolerance, power and quality of life.
What are the components of communication?
7% words
38% tone
55% body
55% of communication is:
Body language
Nonverbal components:
Although nonverbal component of the communication is frequently considered less important, literature suggest that it significantly influences important outcomes like patient`s satisfaction, adherence to advices and clinical outcome.
Barriers to good communication:
- Lack of insight
- Doctors do not give enough heed to the importance of keeping patients adequately informed
- Non-verbal components are frequently neglected
- Language barrier
- Lack of adequate knowledge about the disease or treatment options
- Human failings like stress, tiredness or lack of time
Active listening - more than just paying attention:
- Listening is an active process that involves imbibing all the information expressed verbally or nonverbally by the patient
- It is a major part of communication process
- It helps in better understanding of the patient`s problem and finding better decisions
What communication strategies can help the doctor to improve listening skills?
- Make the patient and the attendant comfortable
- Show interest in what the patient is saying with your mannerism, body language and active involvement
- Mannerism like patting shoulder, holding hands or nodding may convince the patient that you care for them and have understood his/her problem
- Be careful not to interrupt him/her when he/she is expressing something
- While concluding, one must ask the patient if he would like to add something more.
Before starting interview with patient:
- Respect the patient`s confidentiality and maintain privacy
- Be the first one to greet the patient
- Be prepared and know the patient`s name
- Establish eye contact and maintain it at reasonable intervals
- Put the patient at ease
Two words to improve physician-patient communication:
What else?
Conducting medical interview with the patient:
“Tell me about yourself”: The Patient-Centered Interview
“Tell me about yourself”: The Patient-Centered Interview :
The interview should be patient centric rather than disease centric. It is vital that the patient`s interview is conducted to achieve three essential goals that is:
- Gather information
- Building a healthy doctor-patient relationship
- Education of the patient
Practical advices:
- Pay attention to both the verbal and non-verbal clues from the patient
- Provide information on what the patients wants to know and promptly respond to the patient`s reaction
- Discuss nature, course and prognosis (both short term and long term) of the disease, treatment options available and necessity of the investigations
- Discuss in detail regarding necessity and feasibility of expensive investigations and drugs and their effect on main course and outcome of disease
- Involve the patient in the decision making
- Motivate patients regarding adherence to lifestyle modifications
- Always comprehend details in simpler language
Communication with the attendants:
- Never be informal with them
- Conduct conferences once and if possible, twice daily
- Talk about and appreciate the efforts made by them
- Most of the attendants surfs internet and gather lots of information. Try to satisfy their queries by giving better references.
- Always explain the dynamic nature of disease. This is especially important for critically ill patients
- Second opinion should me sought proactively
- Never express shock
- Consent talking is very important part of counselling
Communication with colleagues:
Junior doctors including postgraduate students, fellows and inters along with nursing and supportive staff are a part of the team. Keep then united and motivated.
How should you communicate with colleagues?
- Never talk low about your colleagues or scold residents.
- Greatest courtesy should be displayed for all staffs including nurses, paramedical staffs and other supporting staffs.
- Lead by setting examples.
- Try to teach them the basis and the principles of management of commonly encountered diseases in your ward.
- Audit regular feedback improves in professional practice. Never delay to give appreciation and dare to give positive criticism.
