The Roles Of Communication Skills In Health Care Professionals

Health care professionals encompass a wide range of professions such as nurses, doctors and paramedics to name a few. While the roles of these positions may vary significantly in some areas, a common skill that is essential in maintaining the duty of care that these professions share is their ability to communication skills as required by the situation at hand.

Regarding the treatment of patients, health professionals need to establish a relationship that represents trust, integrity, compassion and dependability with the assumption that any action is made with the sole purpose of being in the best interests of the patient themselves. Following this logic, it makes sense that a health professional must be competent in a number of social areas
Clearly there would be a difference in the way that medical information would be presented to another health professional compared to a patient with a lower level of specific medical knowledge. It would be unethical to use medical jargon when describing a condition to a patient as it may mean they have a gap in their understanding of their condition, and this can also lead to legal implications. Patients have a right to be fully informed about any decisions made about their treatment (and full participate in discussions about said treatment), and this requires the health professional to have skills in providing accurate medical information in layman
Basic social skills include the ability to hold a conversation with a stranger, being able to come across as friendly, understanding social cues and information that could come across as uninformed and/or offensive, and the ability to project knowledge and confidence about a topic to other people. These skills, in addition to many more, allow a patient to feel comfortable with the health professional and their competence, and hopefully disclose important information about their situation with the professional.

In addition to being able to communicate effectively with other health care professionals and the patient, it is important to be able to convey information through different mediums, such as through email and via a phone call. A good health professional should be able to distinguish when these forms of communication are appropriate in place of other forms, such as in a face-to-face meeting. Additionally, they need to be aware of other aspects like privacy and grammar in order to ensure that information is presented accurately, sensitively and