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
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Contractual Partners
From this section it is possible to access to a description of each contractual partner of the Softis-Ped project.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Training Activity
The training activity 'Soft Skills in Pediatrics' was held at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Tirgu Mures (RO)
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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 for Paediatricians and Paediatric Students
Homepage > Training > Training for Paediatricians and Paediatric Students
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.
Communicating in a Multicultural Environment
2.4 Openness
Openness means accommodating attitude or opinion, as in receptivity to new ideas, behaviors, cultures, peoples, environments, experiences, etc., different from the familiar, conventional, traditional, or one's own.
It does not only mean accepting people for who they are, but also for their beliefs and decisions.
This soft skill is very essential for a doctor who daily meets new patients with completely different opinions, which might create conflicts in making decisions about the medical procedures.
Openness in particular encourages honest expression of thoughts, feelings and beliefs. It thus aids the doctor-patient-relationship in helping the patient to be honest in expressing fears about treatment options or results and allows the physician to be open to those fears in finding the optimal medical solution to the problem. Openness will allow the physician to explore alternative methods of treatment that might be equally successful in case patients feel apprehensive about suggested or conventional treatments. Openness thus not only serves as a strengthening aid to doctor-patient relationships, but furthermore allows physicians to expand in their knowledge about treatment options and to grow as a professional.
While openness is a soft skill that will help physicians in their day-to-day dealings with patients from multicultural backgrounds, it is important to note that openness does not mean negating one’s own set of values or beliefs. A doctor who is treating a patient with extreme political views for example, does not have to condone those views or take on the patient’s views. Instead, openness would help the doctor to respect the patient’s right to his own views and to focus on finding a solution to the medical problem in a professional manner, rather than judging the patient for his views.
It does not only mean accepting people for who they are, but also for their beliefs and decisions.
This soft skill is very essential for a doctor who daily meets new patients with completely different opinions, which might create conflicts in making decisions about the medical procedures.
Openness in particular encourages honest expression of thoughts, feelings and beliefs. It thus aids the doctor-patient-relationship in helping the patient to be honest in expressing fears about treatment options or results and allows the physician to be open to those fears in finding the optimal medical solution to the problem. Openness will allow the physician to explore alternative methods of treatment that might be equally successful in case patients feel apprehensive about suggested or conventional treatments. Openness thus not only serves as a strengthening aid to doctor-patient relationships, but furthermore allows physicians to expand in their knowledge about treatment options and to grow as a professional.
While openness is a soft skill that will help physicians in their day-to-day dealings with patients from multicultural backgrounds, it is important to note that openness does not mean negating one’s own set of values or beliefs. A doctor who is treating a patient with extreme political views for example, does not have to condone those views or take on the patient’s views. Instead, openness would help the doctor to respect the patient’s right to his own views and to focus on finding a solution to the medical problem in a professional manner, rather than judging the patient for his views.
Practical Applications
- Role Play – OpennessAs any medical intervention vaccinations might have side effects, too. Lacking the appropriate knowledge some adults believe that vaccination is more dangerous than lacking it. Suggested methods: RP, CBL
- Practical Activity - OpennessThe elder generation tried to be informed from the famous handbook of Benjamin Spock, the younger generation surfs on the internet to learn about sickness and medication. This latter method is not riskless.
Online Resources
- Who are you really – The puzzle of personalityThis is a 15 minutes TED-Talk about the puzzle of personality.
- The magical assumptions behind opennessThis is a 10 minutes TED-Talk about the soft skill openness.
