----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Stewart"
Subject: Re: Decline of Anatomy
> Having recently started a medical degree, I was struck when talking to
> people by the number of times that I was asked to make sure that I didn't
> end up 'talking down' to patients, or to remember to show an interest in
> the individual. I can't recall any of them reminding me to be knowledgable
> or skilled!
You're lucky; in my experience patients are very quick to give you a hard
time if your knowledge or skills are not up to date. I spend half my time
now reassuring patients who do not "believe" my SHOs' opinions! And it's
funny, my verbal communcation is often mono-syllabic, yet my patients seem
to believe me; I can't explain that...
> Even if we agree that both are needed, we are still faced with the
question
> of how best to train doctors so that they are good communicators, and
> competent clinicians.
Well, I'm not sure you can train people to be good communicators, they
either are or they're not; it's a bit like saying you can train people to be
nice, or to be patient centred or considerate. The secret is to select
students who are already good communicators, then you won't have to waste
time "training" them to be themselves, and you can then concentrate on
teaching knowledge and skills. The idea of "training" someone's attitude
strikes me as bizarre; if they've come in to medicine in the first place
then they should have the correct attitude from the outset. If they haven't,
then your selection is at fault, not your training.
Adrian Fogarty
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