What Is Interpersonal Communication?

Interpersonal communication skills are an integral part of medicine. Medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists depend on clear, accurate communications from both patients and other professionals to provide the best outcome possible. While there are a variety of communication skills necessary in the medical field, studies are beginning to show compassion to be a crutial skill for effective communication and patient care, especially for those who are critically ill. (Sinclair, 2016) One challenge to teaching medical students this skill is there is not a universal definition of compassion. Another is exploring what barriers exist which prevent health professionals from using compassion in their daily communication. Finally, …show more content…
Doctors and other professionals are shifting away from I-It communication focused on treatment in favor of taking the extra time and effort to engage in I-You communication focused on holistic patient care. Brian Spitzberg from the School of Communication at San Diego State University presents these axioms in support of increasing communication competence among healthcare professionals: Communication constitutes relationship; relationships are vital to the quality and often the quantity of life; therefore, communication is vital to the quality and quantity of life. (Spitzberg, 2013) Furthering this axiom, he states the greater the competence of communication, the greater the quality of relationships; the greater the quality of relationships, the greater the quality of life; therefore, the greater the competence of communication, the greater the quality of life. These two postulates emphasize a broad ethical responsibility to health care team members, medical schools, and hospital systems to incorporate compassionate communication daily through training, policies, and behavior that support listening and engaging patients for optimal care