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| A medical student in the midst of medical education. SPs are the third wave from the left. [The South Ledges, Appledore via wikimedia] |
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I feel bad when I read articles like "5 Simple Habits Can Help Doctors Connect With Patients" because of quotes like this:
"Our medical teachers put a premium on accuracy and efficiency, which became conflated with speed. Everything had to be fast. In 2014, doctors still value speed and technical accuracy, but we also do more to consider the quality of care we give and whether patients are satisfied with it."As much as I love what I do and how much I value communication skills, when I read this I feel like we ask doctors to do more and more with less and less. In many medical school scenarios we have between 12-15 minutes for each scenario. What sort of meaningful connection can be made in that time? In practice, doctors can't take much more time than that or they risk disrupting an already overbooked schedule.
Also:
"Medical educators should be role models for these common courtesies... Trainees take their cues from us. These behaviors are what constitute 'bedside manner.'"SPs are only one tiny influence in a medical student's education. What school students pick, what attitudes they arrive with, who their mentors are, their internships, their residencies, the laws they practice under, and the insurance industry all influence the kinds of medical professionals they become. Almost all of these things are outside their control, and certainly outside of mine. So yes, to be effective, medical educators should be role models. I would feel better if I knew the skills SPs teach students were being reinforced at all levels.
I like to use "I" messages when I give feedback to students, following the pattern "When you did X I felt Y". Example: "When you explained the treatment options I felt so relieved and in control".
ReplyDeleteI messages relate the behavior of another to your feelings.
Tom Cooney
I'm really not anonymous. I just could not figure out the posting options. Let me try again.
DeleteTom Cooney
Tom, I generally use "when you did X I felt Y," too. Many of the SPs I work with feel like it sounds "fake," though. It took me a lot of practice to make it sound natural.
DeleteIs the X/Y technique part of how you're trained as an SP at your location, or did you pick that up separately?
My SP training touched on this, but I actually learned it many years ago as a social work student. It does take work to make it sound natural. It amazes me how often we are oblivious to how our words and behaviors impact others.
DeleteI've been really impressed with how "when X i felt Y" is effective at reducing student defensiveness, especially when paired with "if you had done A, I would have felt B."
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I try to be conscious of my words and actions. One of the best things about being an SP is how the focus on communications skills in a scenario has affected my communication skills outside scenarios. I hope to write about that some day. :)