This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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This training package is addressed to students and medical practitioners in paediatrics on how to autonomously learn, develop and consolidate their soft skills for improving the quality of paediatric services.
Parents of sick children are going through a difficult experience. Because paediatricians interact with both kids and their parents, they need especially strong interpersonal skills. Bonding with the child’s family, showing empathy and understanding the parents’ plight is a very important part of the treatment. Parents can react in various ways to stressful situations and a paediatrician must be prepared to handle common negative reactions like blame, anger, a sudden outpouring of grief. It’s very important to accept what the parents say, without judging it. Appreciating parents’ efforts and affirming their ability to care for the child both verbally and non-verbally helps building confidence and trust. Parents deserve to know the truth, but its delivery should be tempered with common sense and empathy. If the child’s condition is particularly serious, the information can be delivered in small parts over two or more visits. However, if parents express a desire to know everything, it must be told to them.
Forcing additional diagnostic proceduresEvidence based medicine needs ample empirical evidences to set up reliable diagnosis. For several reasons different additional diagnostic procedures are required, parents and kids often find these extra efforts unwanted.
Controversial feelings against administering antibioticsMany pros and cons regarding antibiotics and paediatricians must judge properly the necessity of giving antibiotics in a given case and also dealing with believes and misbelieves of parents.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.