Lecture 1: Communication Skills Flashcards
Who must pharmacists communicate with?
Patients, doctors, nurses, DHB, government, staff, WINZ, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, families of patients
What is communication?
The ability of an individual to interact with other people
What do clinical communication skills allow you to do?
-Establish effective, empathetic working relationships with patients, their families and other health professionals
- Obtain info you need to know
- give info you need to give
What happens if effective working relationships are not established?
It becomes very difficult to get needed info and messages across
What to effective questions encourage?
Clear, complete and honest dialogue
What is it important NOT to do in clinical communication?
Make assumptions
What are some examples of non verbal communication?
Posture, eye contact, facial expression, relative position, gestures, micro expressions, tone and pitch of voice, emotional expression, physical contact, body movement…
What is non verbal communication open to?
Interpretation
What can you learn about your patients from their nonverbal communication?
How they are feeling, e.g. Embarrassed, anxious, angry,
If they are genuine, e.g. Eye contact,
If what they are saying is honest e.g. If posture does not match with dialogue.
Why is effective clinical communication important?
- it’s a major component of successful treatment
- it increases pharmacist and patient satisfaction
- it increases patient health and well being
Which situations would effective clinical communication be difficult
- Situations when clients are:
Angry, over inclusive, dying, depressed, confused, manipulative, reluctant to talk, much older than you - Situations when clients are from a different cultural group to yours,
- Talking about bad news with clients,
- Talking to family members,
- When clients are not responding to treatment
What is adherence?
Adherence is the extent to which a persons behaviour
(Taking medication, following diet, or executing lifestyle changes,) corresponds with agree recommendations from a health care provider
To maximise adherence to treatment, what are the steps to successful treatment?.
Treatment plan established
Patient understands,
Patient is motivated
Patient trusts the pharmacist and reports adherence difficulties
Pharmacist listens and addresses these difficulties
Successful treatment
If treatment and medication etc is the patients choice, Why must pharmacists care so much?
Because we can make a big difference to make sure the patient understands why medicines have to be taken a certain way.
Once they understand, they are more likely to be compliant to their treatment plan and adhere to it
Why is “being heard” one of the greatest determinants of patient/customer satisfaction?
Patients can’t always judge competence
What is the advantage of having satisfied patients?
Lowered stress and increased job satisfaction for pharmacist.
Happy customers tell their friends!
What are the therapeutic impacts of clinical communication?
Impacts on patients future contact with health system
Impacts on emotional state of patients
Impacts on psychineuroimmunology
What constitutes facilitating communication skills?
Building a helping relationship Rapport, warmth Active listening, Empathy, caring, Dependability
What is rapport?
A positive harmonious relationship
A state where both participants feel comfortable and able to connect with the other persons thoughts and ideas
Why are facilitative communication skills important?
We want to think of patients as people, not tablets
We want patients to trust us
How do you develop rapport?
Show acceptance
- accept clients views as real and appropriate
Offer empathy and concern
- express concern and willingness to help. Acknowledge patients efforts in self help
Be sensitive
- deal sensitively with embarrassing/disturbing topics.
What are some skills in building rapport?
Establishing good first meeting
Non verbal communication expressing interest and respect
Good listening and interview skills
Trustworthiness
How is rapport initially established?
Greet, meet, task, ask
Demonstrate respect and interest
What happens if you not meet I.e. introduce yourself?
Rapport may not be established if patient does not know your role. They may not take you seriously
How is active listening shown?
By verbal and non verbal behaviour
By a respectful accepting attitude
By behaviour which encourages patients to tell their story
And conveys the ‘I am listening and will not laugh’ message
What are active listening skills?
Attending, and following
How is attending achieved?
Posture, appropriate body movements, culturally appropriate eye contact
How are following skills achieved
Through the use of door openers, avoidance of roadblocks, usage of minimal encourages, asking a few questions, using silence
What are the three types of questions?
Open questions, closed questions, and leading questions
What is an open question?
Questions which introduce an area of enquiry without unduly focusing the content or the response
E.g. How was your day?
What is a closed question?
Questions that limit the response to a narrow file set by the questioner, often to a one word answer
e.g. Did you have a good day?
What are leading questions.
Questions which imply a certain wanted answer
E.g. It was YOU who left the fridge door open, wasn’t it?
