Chapter 12: Communication
Overview
Brian is looking forward to volunteering in a small family medical practice over winter break. In addition to building up his resume, he hopes to see the real “behind the scenes” action that happens in a doctor’s office. He loves to watch medical dramas where nurses and doctors throw around big words and acronyms, even if he doesn’t understand half of what they’re saying. Maybe he’ll be able to pick up some impressive terms to share with his friends when winter quarter starts. One thing’s for sure, he’s going to see and interact with people from many different backgrounds and abilities. He hopes he doesn’t accidentally offend anyone!
On his first day, Brian is introduced to all of the providers and staff. He is given the opportunity to shadow one of the doctors in the morning and help the staff with their different daily tasks in the afternoon. The morning flies by with the doctor as Brian watches her deftly provide care while building rapport and trust with Her patients, some of whom required translation services which are provided by the clinic. In addition to providing care, Brian is able to watch the doctor connect with referring providers to update them on patient treatments and prognosis. after a quick lunch, Brian begins his work with the clinical staff
In performing some of the duties of the clinic’s small staff, Brian helps with reshelving patient charts, filing medical records that have been sent by other providers, and filling out patient visit superbills for providers to complete when seeing their afternoon patients. These documents allow the provider to enter the diagnosis and procedures performed and can then be sent on to the billing department for processing. When the clinic gets very busy in the afternoon, Brian is assigned to answer phones and place callers on hold in order to help the front desk staff catch up.
In this chapter, you will learn how to communicate professionally with other healthcare providers and with patients from all backgrounds and abilities. We will explore the different ways in which communication may involve interpreters or assistive devices. Readers will be introduced to the concept of healthcare teams and learn communication skills for dealing with other healthcare professionals. Basic medical terminology and shorthand will be introduced and readers will become acquainted with simple medical charting templates.
Objectives
Upon completion of this chapter, the learner will be able to:
- Demonstrate communication skills that will facilitate their success in a culturally diverse environment.
- Discuss ways in which providers can communicate with disabled patients, such as through medical interpreters who sign ASL and through assistive devices.
- Explain the foundations of medical charting practices
- Create accurate SOAP notes for given clinical case scenarios or to address patients and providers in an appropriate manner.
- Define basic medical terminology and shorthand to improve receptive and expressive communication skills.
Key Terms
- Assistive listening device
- Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device
- Interpreter
- Nonverbal communication
- Referral
- Medical shorthand
- SOAP notes
- Therapeutic communication
- Medical Interpreter
- Verbal communication
Attributions
- Chapter opening image: Intense Color Coded Notes by Michael Mandiberg is released under CC BY-SA 2.0
