Chapter: 1.1 Importance of Communication Skills for Health Professionals

Importance of Communication Skills for Health Professionals

Health Professionals are highly trained and expert professionals having knowledge of vast and complicated disease processes. Though the advances in science technology and development of state-of-the art electro medical equipment enable him to diagnose the cases correctly, the decision to use the proper technique depends on his overall impression of the case and the underlined pathological process which he has arrived at during the conversation with the patient. The diversity and the complexities of illness require good communication skills which every doctor must inculcate and develop constantly.

The discussion with a patient leads to the formulation of a problem, to decide the investigations required, to arrive at a correct diagnosis, to plan the line of treatment and its effective implementation. Good communication is required at every stage of the plan of the treatment for a successful outcome.

For example, a large number of tests require elaborate guidance to the patient. A patient advised of blood sugar examination or glucose tolerance test is briefed about the fasting before a blood sample is taken and to bring a breakfast to ea after the samples are taken. A patient going for ultra sound is told to drink plenty of water and not to void before USG. A patient posted for major surgery is kept nothing by mouth (NBM) for a specified period and again post operatively to avoid complications. The attending nurse has to communicate theses instructions to the patients as well as to the laboratory staff, the failure o which will lead to inconvenience, delay or medical complications.

The post operative phase and the convalescence stage are quite critical and require lot of precautions to prevent complications/ relapse and for a speed recovery. The doctor has to issue several instructions from time to time which are to be followed by the nursing staff and the patient/ relatives. Any lapse or omission at any stage will have adverse effects on the recovery of patient causing physical, mental agony to him besides increasing the length of stay in the hospital and increase in the cost of the treatment. A good and timely communication can avoid such situations.

Good communication ensures acceptance and compliance. In the medical practice, cooperation of the patients/relatives play an important role in the success of the treatment. A person has a broad zone of acceptance and will accept communication even if he does not agree with the entire message. When a patient feels that he is a part of a well developed team, he will tend to accept communication without questioning the same. The Health Professionals can create such a favorable response from the patient by good communication.

A good rapport with the patient/ relatives can be developed by good communication. If the Health Professionals effectively uses the technique of empathy, they can gain the trust and confidence of the patient which create a bond of friendship. These patients develop full faith in the ability, competence and sincerity of the Health Professionals. They tend to accept the unfavorable outcome without any ill feelings and develop no malice towards the Health Professionals.