Communication Courses for Doctors
Good communication skills are integral to healthcare practice. Better physician-patient communication is linked to increased patient satisfaction and patient adherence to medication and treatment regimes as well as to improved clinical outcomes.
Patient-centered care involves treating patients as partners, involving them in decision-making and enlisting their sense of responsibility for their care while respecting their individual values and concerns.
Skillful interviews improve diagnostic accuracy by gathering a superior quantity and quality of data. Physicians with good communication skills establish rapport with their patients and consequentially improve the patient's compliance with treatment. Effective interviews also improve patient outcomes, reduce medical errors.
Good communication skills improve medical care and reduce lawsuits. Malpractice suits often are the results of differences in expectations between the patient and the physician. Effective communication helps physicians to understand patient expectations thereby reducing liability exposure.
Communication is important not only to professional-patient interaction but also within the healthcare team. This is essential to ensure continuity of care and effective treatment for patients. The benefits of effective communication include good working relationships and increased patient satisfaction. Poor communication between professional staff has been identified as an underlying factor for failed communication with patients.
TRaCS provides professional communication skills courses for doctors of varying skills level ranging from interns or House Officers, to Medical Officers or Registrars, to Associate Consultants and above. Each course utilizes activities and role plays (using professional actors) to help doctors improve their communication skills, to better understand and manage issues involved in breaking bad news as well as highlight important skills necessary in developing effective treatment teams.