Double Faceted Problems In Health Care Communication Essay

Previously I mentioned that Dr. H acknowledged the double faceted problems in health care communication. As stated he first spoke about the busy job he does. Secondly, he spoke about how the large medical teams that he often works on struggle with differences in opinions among the team members. When different members of the medical team want to follow different plans of treatment it can make working together difficult and sometimes unpleasant. I would not be surprised if this led to medical errors due to lack of communication when a certain team member did not agree with a particular method of treatment. We asked Dr. H what other team members are often involved in communicating with patients in his experience and he identified first doctors …show more content…
H how he prepared to deliver bad news and he seemed to follow a method similar to SPIKES2. First, Dr. H emphasized the importance of delivering bad news in person. Secondly, he told us that it is important that you are not interrupted while delivering bad news. In order to ensure this Dr. H said he often tries to use a conference room to meet with patients/families and ensure privacy. One point Dr. H made that I found significant was his emphasis on not being afraid to say you’re sorry. He acknowledged that many medical professionals don’t like to do this because it can make it look like they have done something wrong. The article “We’re Sorry” that we read for this class explains that saying “I’m sorry” can have a “healing effect”.4 While the article related this to medical errors I think the point stands in many situations, especially in delivering bad news.
When delivering bad news Dr. H also spoke about the importance of sitting when delivering news, while he didn’t say that this is something he always does, he said that it can help the patient/family feel as if you are “relating to them appropriately”. This comment coincided with what we have learned in