By Hannah Cox It’s no secret that medical school has a stigma of being one of the hardest graduate programs existing. Students feel an insane amount of pressure to get good grades throughout their entire lives - good high school grades get them to college, good college grades get them into medical school, good medical school grades in class and within clinics will get them into a good residency program, a good residency program will get them a good job. When students are placed into clinical rounds their third and fourth years, they are also taking many important comprehensive exams to check to see they are paying good attention during these rounds. As the article “Being a good medical student doesn’t mean you’ll be a good doctor” notes, these patients that they are supposed to be serving become roadblocks from studying. Students are so focused on their grades that they forget they are serving real people with real problems. Unfortunately, as “Why Failing Med Students Don’t Get Failing Grades” discusses, students cannot be failed out of medical school for having poor interpersonal communication skills. For most in the profession, they will be meeting with patients on a regular basis. Learning to treat the patients, nurses, and co-workers with respect, care, and empathy is the job. There isn’t always a straightforward textbook procedure available. Part of treatment to patients is not just the physical aspects, but also the emotional ones. Communication plays a huge role as to whether or not a patient is comfortable opening up to the doctor (which is sometimes the only way doctors can help patients), coming back to that doctor, and the overall impression/feeling people get about hospitals, physicians, etc. Obviously, verbal communication is key here, but nonverbal communication plays a huge role here. Eye contact, posture, facial expressions, and vocal tone impact a patient to the highest degree. Imagine if you are being treated by a medical student and they come into your room staring at papers, pacing, and rushing you to answer questions before running off to another patient. How would you feel? Imagine another medical student comes in and sits down with you, asking you questions and follow-ups on your current treatment plan. He sits forward in his chair, making good eye contact and has an approachable facial expression. You’re much more likely to feel important, which would encourage you to speak up about any other concerns you have. Therefore, you’d be able to receive the best care and have the best outcomes. In Morgan’s post “Physicians' Nonverbal Communication Skills can Predict Patient Satisfaction,” she notes that the ability for physicians to read nonverbal communication of their patient is also important to their overall care. Imagine you’re a doctor and you’re asking a patient to discuss their reason for coming. She have a giant bruise on her arm and a sprained ankle, and she says she fell down the stairs. However, she is looking at the floor, speaking in a somewhat hushed tone, and is fidgeting nervously. A good read on nonverbal communication may tell you that something else is going on that you should ask her about. As Morgan notes, “Furthermore, if physicians do not decode effectively, they may fail to identify patient dissatisfaction or distress if the patient is reluctant to express their feelings verbally to their physician.” These interactions can influence whether or not the patient is satisfied with their treatment plan, whether or not they adhere to their treatment plan, and as to whether or not they return. In module six, vocalics are discussed. The tone of voice and inflection that both doctors and patients use is very important to the overall satisfaction of the patient's’ experience, and also the care they receive. This is important because of the type of meaning that can be conveyed within tone of voice. The rate, pitch, enunciation, rhythm, and loudness of speech can indicate the seriousness of a situation, or the comfort/relationship level of the patient and doctor. Amy Ho from “Being a good medical student doesn’t mean you’ll be a good doctor” recognized that when she started caring for patients as they were - people in need - her grades flew up without even having to try. Rather than trying to recall textbook information, she made personal connections with her patients and did better on her tests and examinations than ever before. While being a doctor is very information heavy and there is a ton to learn in medical school, these articles show us that the best doctors are not just knowledgeable, they are also personal and have strong communication skills. Sources: Chen, P. W., Dr. (2013, February 28). Why Failing Med Students Don’t Get Failing Grades [Web log post]. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/why-failing-med-students-dont-get-failing-grades/?_r=0 Ho, A. (2013, October 6). Being a good medical student doesn’t mean you’ll be a good doctor [Web log post]. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/10/good-medical-student-good-doctor.html As the video above implies, even grades for pre-medical school students are an ongoing stressor. This user, however, delves into the positive, and where to go from there! You are not your mistakes.
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