Real Communication An Introduction

Chapter 6  Listening 175

The Doctor’s Office

At the beginning of this chapter, we talked about the importance

of good communication between doctors and patients, as well as

the costs of communication breakdowns in the health care field.

Let’s take a moment to revisit the nature of listening as it relates

to patient–doctor interactions.

c All communication is transactional, and both parties—in this case, the doctor

and the patient—are responsible for it. But the expense of lawsuits

and malpractice insurance ultimately puts the pressure on the health care

professionals to improve communication in order to avoid costly mistakes.

That’s why so many hospitals and insurance companies are providing training

for doctors. Medical schools are taking the process a step further by weeding

out candidates who are poor communicators.

c Doctors also bear greater responsibility for communication outcomes
because they, at the end of the day, are the professionals and are expected to
be adept at every aspect of their jobs. Linda Berstein, who directs a program
for improving health care professionals’ communication skills, notes, “To be
a good doctor, you have to have the ability to listen to the patients and fol-
low their leads” (quoted in Landro, 2013, para. 26). Doctors in the program
are trained to ask better questions, to probe for additional information, and
to ensure that patients understand their directions.

c Age may affect memory, but the situational context plays a role here as well.

In a doctor’s office, faced with concerns about our health and intimidated by

unfamiliar medical terminology, we are more likely to experience listening

apprehension, which will affect our ability to process information.

c Note the patient’s explanation that people might rush out of a doctor’s

appointment because “they know the doctor is busy.” In this case, the

relational context is negatively impacting communication. A doctor who

implies that she is busy, or perhaps that she has more important patients to

attend to, might leave a patient thinking that her case, or her illness, is less

important or perhaps not as serious.

Activities

1. LaunchPad for Real Communication offers key term videos and encourages self-
   assessment through adaptive quizzing. Go to bedfordstmartins.com/realcomm
   to get access to:

LearningCurve

Adaptive Quizzes.

T

Ahb

BACK TO

A

1L hPdf R lC i

THINGS TO TRY

Video clips that illustrate key concepts, highlighted

in teal in the Real Reference section that follows.

2. Describe a time when you listened well. How do you know you listened well?
   Where were you? Who were you with? What were your goals? Did you adapt