Communication has been one of the largest components of the Marseille Experience thus far. My earlier post discusses the lack of thought I have previously put into outward, verbal communication. The same is true (if not more true) for the subtle, nonverbal side of communication. With that being said, it was quite a shock to have a wonderful presentation that happened to discuss nonverbal communication often being more harmful to the relationship with a colleague and how that can lead to harm to the patient. I think that the biggest solution to this problem is something rather simple and one that has also been tossed around a lot this week: being mindful. Be aware of the way you are talking to those around you. Your tone. Your body language. Take the time to actually get to the know all of the people on the team. There is nobody “too low”… Continue reading →

Yesterday we were introduced to The Domino Game. A challenging endeavor highlighting the components of effective communication in a medical facility. For my group, these components seemed to be time, the ability to provide feedback during the conversation, and a standardized language. This activity truly exemplified that if any one of these three components is missing, miscommunication is going to happen. There is no question about it. Regrettably, how often is one of these components absent in healthcare? Whether it is a physician barking orders to a nurse and running off to the next task or a medical professional forgetting that a patient most likely does not speak the foreign language that medicine so often is, it happens every single day. Effective communication takes practice and thought, but as my title for this post states, communication is something that I almost never thought about as a component of my medical… Continue reading →