Some Simple Rules for Effective Communication in Clinical Teaching and Practice Environments
“It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content … it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble, and from babble to confusion.”
René Daumal, French writer and poet, 1908-1944
Effective communication in clinical practice and teaching is, in my opinion, one of the most important skills that physicians in academic and community practice should strive to acquire. During my many years in medicine, I have often witnessed serious failures in effective communication between physicians and patients and among physicians speaking to each other. The commonest failure in communicating information is the result of inattentive or inaccurate listening. When an individual fails to comprehend what is being said either explicitly or implicitly, misunderstandings may result that require prolonged discussion and negotiation before resolution is achieved. We can all agree that confusion often results when careful listening is not exercised. So, how does one learn to listen effectively? This essay lists examples of a few communication failures with guidelines that I try to follow to improve my own communication skills in what I say or write.
Effective listening requires a conscious effort by the listener in order to understand what the speaker is trying to communicate. This kind of listening requires complete and focused attention on the part of the listener. It requires an expenditure of energy; it will not occur if the listener is distracted by other thoughts or by a handheld device such as a smart phone. When I am trying to communicate with someone, and they are scanning through messages on the screen of their handheld device, it irritates me because I feel that they are not focusing their attention on what is being said. In addition to being downright discourteous, listening is not occurring. The simple guideline to follow here is to focus one’s attention actively and consciously on what is being said. This is the first of 5 communication failures with corrective guidelines that will be discussed in this editorial. Each failure interferes with effective communication and understanding.
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— Joseph S. Alpert, MD, editor-in-chief, The American Journal of Medicine
This article originally appeared in the May 2011 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
