Module 3: Dealing with people and patients

By the end of this session, you should be able to:

1. Understand the basic principles of communication
2. Appreciate the value of building rapport with patients
3. Use appropriate communication strategies for opening, procedural, and closing exchanges with patients

To summarise, the lecture comprises:

• The basic principles of communication
• Suggestions for building rapport with your patients
• Three communication stages: initial exchanges, procedure exchanges, and closing exchanges.

Remember: There are 4 areas that nurses report as problematic when dealing with specialists and doctors. 

1. Delay in communications so that they were too late to be effective
2. Failure to communicate with all the relevant individuals on the team
3. Content that was not consistently complete and accurate
4. Failure to achieve the purpose of the communications – i.e. issues were left unresolved until the point of urgency

So please be clear and accurate, and don't be afraid to (politely) say no if you mean no!

Further Resources

• Resources for Indians: The pros and cons of working in the UK for Indian doctors
• Ethnicity facts and figures: A summary of facts and figures about people from the Indian ethnic group, including data on education, work and income, crime and policing, housing and health
• Resources for Nigerians: The Medical Association of Nigerians Across Great Britain, a body representing Nigerian Medical doctors and allied health professionals in the United Kingdom.
• Downloads: Improving teams in healthcare - Team communication pdf, Indian doctors guide - BMJ careers.pdf, Nigerian encounters book.pdf
• Books: Healthcare Communication by Bruce Hugman [ISBN: 9780853699033] - eBook available.

Now that you have completed this session, the next Module will look at resolving misunderstandings