Patient Miscommunication

Miscommunication can become a big problem when the dietitian and patient speak a different language. The attitude or tone in which we are talking to our patients about their health and other misunderstandings can interfere with the good health care we can provide to the patient and their relatives, it can also be a frustration if this becomes a bigger problem (Haffner, 1992). Other thing that we need to keep in mind when we treat with people from a different country is that every country has their own beliefs and cultural attitudes. Doing research about the country from the patient we are dealing with, will help us understand the right way to treat our patient. Another good thing to do is teach our patient a couple of words in the language
we speak and also learn some words in their language as well. This way he or she is going to feel more involved with his or her treatment, having better results at the end. A good idea to facilitate the communication between the dietitians and patients can be cards with drawings containing commonly words used in the dietitian and health field (Thompson, 1990). For example: doctor, dietitian, pain, hunger, thirst, family, medicine.