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.
Training of Lecturers
Training for Paediatricians and Paediatric Students
Multilanguage dictionary of medical terms
-
Contractual Partners
From this section it is possible to access to a description of each contractual partner of the Softis-Ped project.
-
Lecturers
From this section it is possible to access to the information about the paediatric lecturers involved in the Softis-Ped Project in the 5 European countries involved.
-
Residents Working with Children Information
From this section it is possible to access to the information about the paediatricians involved in the Softis-Ped Project in the 5 European countries involved.
-
Paediatric students
From this section it is possible to access to the information about the paediatric students involved in the Softis-Ped Project in the 5 European countries involved.
-
Associated Partners
As a result of the exploitation activity a number of associated partners officially joined the project in order to contribute to the improvement of the project impact on their target groups and to ensure the project sustainability by continuing using the project deliverables in the next years.
Events
The Softis-Ped project has been promoted trough conferences and articles.
-
Conferences
The Softis-Ped project was presented in a number of events in order to report about the activities carried out and the results achieved
-
Training Activity
The training activity 'Soft Skills in Pediatrics' was held at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Tirgu Mures (RO)
-
Press Review
The Softis-Ped project partnership made contacts with web sites focusing on the fields of paediatrics and education
This section of the Softis-Ped portal provides administrative information for the project contractual partners and for the European Commission and it is password protected.
Training of Lecturers
Homepage > Training > Training of Lecturers
This training package is addressed to lecturers and trainers in the field of paediatrics on how to assist paediatric undergraduate and resident students in developing and consolidating their soft skills for improving the quality of paediatric services.
Communicating with Parents
2.1. Transparency of Information about Treatment and Therapy
2.1.3 Communication barriers
Good communication with parents is essential. Most of the cases parents are experts in identifying when their child’s behavior is not normal for them and may indicate ill health. Pediatricians should acknowledge parents’ understanding of their children’s personality and health, particularly if the child’s age or disability makes it difficult to communicate with them. Pediatricians should discuss any concerns they have about a child’s or adolescent’s safety or welfare with their parents and keep them informed about what is happening.
Communication barriers mean all those blocks which stop or interrupt the process of communication. There are many hurdles to good communication in the doctor-parent relationship, including cognitive and affective barriers. To reach a common goal of better child health, the physician needs to identify the most common communication barriers and learn certain soft skills besides the medical knowledge he holds.
On the cognitive level, pediatricians should check whether they provided enough, too much or just the right amount of information and if the information is understandable for both parent and child. Sometimes physicians have unrealistic expectations towards parents and patients in terms of the level of understanding of the medical jargon and the ability to handle complex information in a stressful situation. Medical jargon must be avoided in almost all cases, even where the parent is a skilled health care professional.
To deliver proper communication on the affective level a pediatrician must take into account the generation the parents belong to, the parent’s gender, cultural differences and personal values. The families’ value system and expectation must be respected by the healthcare workers. Nonverbal clues such as eye contact, touch, tone of voice is also important. A researcher group comparing patient claims of surgeons found that doctors judged to have more dominant voice tone were almost three times as likely to be in the sued group. Those doctors whose voice tone conveyed concern or anxiety were half as likely to be in the sued group. A negative voice tone (anxiety) coupled with positive words (sympathetic and calming) was associated with more patient satisfaction and better appointment keeping over a 6- month period (Ambady et al. 2002).
Communication barriers mean all those blocks which stop or interrupt the process of communication. There are many hurdles to good communication in the doctor-parent relationship, including cognitive and affective barriers. To reach a common goal of better child health, the physician needs to identify the most common communication barriers and learn certain soft skills besides the medical knowledge he holds.
On the cognitive level, pediatricians should check whether they provided enough, too much or just the right amount of information and if the information is understandable for both parent and child. Sometimes physicians have unrealistic expectations towards parents and patients in terms of the level of understanding of the medical jargon and the ability to handle complex information in a stressful situation. Medical jargon must be avoided in almost all cases, even where the parent is a skilled health care professional.
To deliver proper communication on the affective level a pediatrician must take into account the generation the parents belong to, the parent’s gender, cultural differences and personal values. The families’ value system and expectation must be respected by the healthcare workers. Nonverbal clues such as eye contact, touch, tone of voice is also important. A researcher group comparing patient claims of surgeons found that doctors judged to have more dominant voice tone were almost three times as likely to be in the sued group. Those doctors whose voice tone conveyed concern or anxiety were half as likely to be in the sued group. A negative voice tone (anxiety) coupled with positive words (sympathetic and calming) was associated with more patient satisfaction and better appointment keeping over a 6- month period (Ambady et al. 2002).
Online Resources
- Ambady N. et al. (2002) Surgeons’ tone of voice: A clue to malpractice history. Surgery, 132, 5-9Interpersonal aspects of care, such as the communication behaviors of physicians, are often cited as central to patients’ decisions to initiate malpractice litigation. In the current study, authors investigated the relationship between judgments of surgeons’ voice tone and their malpractice claims history.
