Launer, John (2008) Conversations inviting change. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 84 . pp. 4-5. ISSN 1469-0756 Full text available

Other (Postgraduate Medical Journal) 4.full?sid=2ac4d0bf-cbc8-40ec-9c77-396786bbc77d - Published Version Download (67kB)

Abstract

Why don’t doctors pursue lifelong learning in their communication skills, just as they do with their scientific and technical skills? Good medical communicators have fewer complaints in their careers.1 They cost their employers and insurers less in negligence claims. Doctors who communicate well are better at putting patients at their ease. They are more likely to be given the right information, to make the right diagnosis and to recommend the most appropriate treatment (which patients are then more likely to take).2 They will be able to cope with the large proportion of cases where people want to discuss their lives as well as their bodies. There is, in fact, an inextricable link between good communication and simply being a good doctor. The lack of any requirement for working doctors to keep improving their communication skills, as they have to do with their other skills, isn’t just surprising. It’s alarming.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The URL links to the full-text on the publishers site
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Communication Skills
Subjects:	Health and Medical Sciences > Patient Care
Department/People:	Children, Young Adult and Family Services
URI:	https://repository.tavistockandportman.ac.uk/id/eprint/80

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