Communication as a Bridge to Build a Sound Doctor-Patient/Parent Relationship

Effective communication is essential to establish a good doctor-patient/parent relationship and practice high quality medicine. It is indeed the key to build confidence, faith and trust of the parents to augment the process of healing. Most parental complaints of dissatisfaction and mismanagement originate due to lack of communication or because of abrasive, cold or callous attitude of the doctor or members of the health care team and not due to lack of knowledge and skills or unsatisfactory management of the patient. The patients and parents must feel all times that they are treated with respect and dignity. We should consider patients as our clients and handle them with due confidence, humility, concern and empathy. It is important to communicate with the parents by literally coming down to their level and by maintaining an eye-to-eye contact. We should not judge, belittle or argue with the parents and handle them with due courtesy and consideration. We should be careful, tactful and diplomatic in deciding not only "what to tell the parents" but also "how to tell it". The parents should be told about the condition of the child in a simple, easy-to-understand language without any medical jargons. We should be pragmatic but honest in communicating the true medical status of the child but nevertheless try to keep the hope alive which has tremendous healing capabilities. We should not allow the technology to further dehumanize medicine and try to resurrect the declining image of the medical profession. It is desirable that all the medical and nursing colleges in the country should initiate regular education programs in the fields of social and behavioral sciences, art of communication and medical ethics for graduate and postgraduate medical and nursing students.