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Vol VIII, Issue 3
Date of Publication: July 02, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2022.081
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Students' Corner
What it means to be a patient: An introspection into doctor–patient communication
Abstract:
In this essay, we talk about the importance of the relationship between doctors and patients, and the need for patient-centric communication rather than that with a paternalistic approach. Training of a medical student should include communication skills besides technical training in healthcare. As patient care evolves, communication becomes more crucial; therefore, it is important to understand the repercussions of poor communication skills and how improvement in this vital area can be beneficial.
Copyright and license ©Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2022: Open Access and Distributed under the Creative Commons license ( CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits only non-commercial and non-modified sharing in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
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Comments:
Thank you for this. Really helpful for new graduates.
This is a good article discussing a much needed change in Indian medical education which is like an elephant in the room. Students in general percieve the inadequate and inappropriate communication with the patients in the hospitals during training, while more senior doctors probably normalise the issue and become increasingly less sensitized. Students and faculty should advocate for change in their curriculum to include training on communication and empathy to develop a more patient centered approach to managing heath issues. Well done and good effort.