Improving communication skills
CMAJ 1999;160:480
I was pleased to see that the Oct. 6 issue of CMAJ focused on the role of clinical teachers in the education of medical students1 [full text]. The recent Educating Future Physicians for Ontario project identified a number of roles to which medical students can aspire during their training. The role of effective communicator, which entails being sensitive to the needs of patients, is one of these. On entry into medical school, students are often unprepared to deal with the complex health issues, both physical and psychological, that affect a patient's life. Having an empathetic instructor who delivers patient-centred care can be both educational and inspirational.
Victor Neufeld2 asks "what more can be done by the medical community in Canada" to address the issue of doctor–patient communication [full text]. There is something that medical students can do. During the first few years of undergraduate medicine, clinical teachers appointed by the faculty instruct students both in lectures and in the hospital setting. Students are often asked to evaluate their clinical instructors in terms of level of knowledge, approachability and other characteristics. However, there should be an opportunity for students to identify those physicians who exemplify patient-centred care. I recently passed on an evaluation to a course coordinator praising an orthopedic surgeon who took the time to address the needs of his patients. While teaching us how to treat basic orthopedic problems, he was also teaching us how to look at the whole person, not just "the case." I hope that my evaluation will encourage the faculty to ask this surgeon to return as an instructor.
It is becoming increasingly important for medical students to take part in their education. Evaluating clinical teachers and commenting positively when a teacher displays humanistic qualities is one way to address this "educational challenge."
Bindu Kumar
Class of 2000
University of Western Ontario
London, Ont.
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References
- Beaudoin C, Maheux B, Côté L, Des Marchais JE, Jean P, Berkson L. Clinical teachers as humanistic caregivers and educators: perceptions of senior clerks and second-year residents. CMAJ 1998;159(7):765-9.
- Neufeld VR. Physician as humanist: still an educational challenge. CMAJ 1998;159(7):787-8.
