5 Communication (Personal and Professional)
LEARNING GUIDE: COMMUNICATION (PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
OVERVIEW
Communication comes in all sizes. It is primarily written or spoken. The information delivered can be formal or condensed into acronyms (jargon or as used in social media) and data. Communication can be audio, use sign language, or presented as video. Culture and structures/systems play an important role in the sharing and understanding information. In this lesson on communication students will explore communication best practices, barriers to effective communication, and communication tools used in healthcare as well as review therapeutic and non-therapeutic communication strategies. This content offers a context for communication both personal/professional and interprofessional communication that are foundational to for all healthcare professionals. That is, regardless of degree or program, Nurses, Physician Assistants, Respiratory Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physicians, and Social Workers, Pharmacists, Emergency Medical Technicians, Athletic Trainers, and so on, are being taught similar content to ready them to become effective communicators. For many students, this may be a review however, for some students they may appreciate a refresher and expansion on their competency in communication in the dyad of patient-healthcare profession.
OBJECTIVES
For this lesson you will:
- Increase knowledge of how voice and body language components contribute to effective interprofessional communication.
- Embrace a willingness to critique your own communication weaknesses.
- Display the motivation to improve interprofessional communication skills.
- Choose effective communication tools or techniques to facilitate discussions and interactions to enhance team function.
- Express one’s knowledge and opinions to team members [as well as peers and faculty] with clarity and respect, working to ensure common understanding of information.
- Organize and communicate information with clients, families and health care team members in a form that is understandable, avoiding discipline-specific terminology (jargon) when possible.
COMPETENCIES
| IPEC Sub-Competencies – Interprofessional Communication | |
| CC1 | Choose effective communication tools and techniques, including information systems and communication technologies, to facilitate discussions and interactions that enhance team function. |
| CC2 | Communicate information with patients, families, community members, and health team members in a form that is understandable, avoiding discipline-specific terminology when possible. |
| CC3 | Express one’s own knowledge and opinions to team members involved in patient care and population health improvement with confidence, clarity, and respect, working to ensure common understanding of information, treatment, care decisions, and population health programs and policies. |
| CC4 | Listen actively and encourage ideas and opinions of the other team members. |