Effective symptom control is quiet difficult without effective communication. Almost invariably communication in-between patient and the physician is the central part of the therapy.
Bad news are the information that may have a harmful effect on patient’s life at present or in the future. Breaking bad news is a frequent and difficult task for every physician, independent of her or his specialty. It is particularly common in the oncological setting that life-threatening and life-limiting diagnoses are frequently given to the patients, such as newly diagnosed cancer or unwantedprogresses of anexisting cancer. The quality of the delivery of bad news to patients seems to be directly related to patients’ stress and anxiety, their adjustment to
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It is obvious that the doctor – patient relationship is based on trust and honesty but in few cases if clinician disclose the worst prognosis of the disease to the patient, he or she might not believe him and unfortunately taking wrong steps which could be more harmful for the patient.
Factors that should be reviewed before disclosure:
1. Patient’s factors: patient may not be able to tolerate the initial trauma due to her current physical condition and co-morbidities, like fatigue, hearing difficulty, poor eye sight, dementia, etc. she could be in a denial mood. Her anxiety and depression can worsen the situation.
2. Professional factors: Breaking bad news is an essential skill for all doctors. Incompetent knowledge, exhaustion, personal difficulties, behavioral beliefs, and subjective attitude, like personal fear of death can affect doctor’s ability to convey bad news sensitively [5]. Also apart from doing a thoroughhomework on the patient’s disease status, emotional status, coping skills, educational level, and support system available are also reviewed before trying to break the bad news [4].
3. Disease related factors: As nobody really know an individual patient’s prognosis, especially with life limiting illness, thus patient may put them in to another acute on chronic exacerbation or superadded
Susannah Cahalan’s battle with a rare autoimmune disorder can be used as a perfect case study for misdiagnosis with patients, biases that doctors may encounter and the sick role. Firstly, for those that have not read Brain on Fire, it is about the journey Susannah, a reporter for the New York Post, underwent with trying to find an answer to her perplexing medical mystery. Early on in her journey Susannah started experiencing subtle symptoms that she dismissed as the flu and the common blues everyone experiences from time to time. Her primary doctor that will play a major role in the story, Dr. Bailey, also thought Susannah had symptoms along the lines of a virus like mono. She continued with her daily life not putting much thought to her symptoms.
Nurses and physicians need to express themselves in a clear and precise manner, their message should rely on verification and collaborative problem solving. They need to displaying a calm and supportive demeanor under stress, maintenance of mutual respect, and authentic understanding of the unique role (Robinson, Gorman, Slimmer, Yudkowsky, 2010). Not everyone was born being able to express themselves in such a manner, therefore providing the necessary education and skills will help both nurses and physicians gain the confidence and competence they need to work
This paper will explain the seven principles of patient-clinician communication. It will then apply three of those principles to my interactions with my patients. Next, it will describe three methods being used in my area of practice to improved communication between the patients and clinicians. It will ultimately choose one of those principles that applies best to my practice and clearly describe how I use it. It will describe ethical principles that can be applied to issues with patient-clinician communication.
With these patients come high emotional roller-coaster, wanting to know as much as possible. As a soon to be Sonographer we are taught not to relay any information we view. Not even at the slightest bit. Sonographers act under the direction of
The diagnosis of cancer can have an enormous impact on a cancer patient mentally. A cancer diagnosis can be shocking to some patients. " After you
Sometimes when patients come into the hospital it can be difficult at times for them when they are feeling bad in knowing exactly what is going on. There are cases where it’s
The thesis of this chapter states that in certain situations, it is crucial to listen to a medical professional, however, in others, it is very important to listen to yourself and also to do what you feel is right. The author of Complications," Atul Gawane, has written this specific chapter to persuade the reader of his thesis. If the choice you make is incorrect, then it could potentially be a matter of life and death. Atul Gawande gives multiple examples of patients that have made wrong and right decisions to prove his point. He uses the personal anecdotes of four different people, with four decisions to prove his point.
The patients I have worked with have become my greatest teachers. I can’t sit down and flip to a chapter in a textbook that would teach me how to listen to a patient and let their unique history paint the picture of their present illness. A physician that I shadowed told me something that has since resonated with me. She told me how every patient has a story, and you always need to listen carefully because these stories aren’t pointless, they often can lead to your diagnosis. I personally believe the most important member of the care team is the patient; without communicating with the patient there is no chance to obtain crucial insight as to the illness that is presented to you.
I believe that unless a patient has explicitly said that they do not wish to be told bad news, it is a doctor’s duty to tell them the truth. This provides the patient with the most respect for a person and their autonomy. It also allows the patient to make important decisions regarding their own health, relationships, and finances. If the news is very bad, the patient can then decide to reconcile with estranged family members/friends, have the time to write a will, and settle any unfinished business. If the news is not so bad, the patient can decide what treatment path, if any, they wish to
She advocates for the goal of disclosure and an atmosphere of openness, hoping to restore trust between the physician and the patient. Communicating truthful information, even if it may be life-changing, will promote more beneficial medical practices. However, she also acknowledges that there may be cases in which concealment of information may be necessary. In such cases, Bok suggests that truthful information should go to someone closely related to the patient which will promote a more open and trusting environment. A concern arises, then, about what the physician should do if the patient explicitly communicates that they do not want to be told about a diagnosis or treatment option even if it may better promote their
They think that having a discussion about this sensitive topic can help build trust between patients with their doctors, nurses, and others around them. For example, Doctor Schwartz, who spoke at the Society of General Internal Medicine annual meeting in Toronto said, “because conflicts over futility can create mistrust between family members and the healthcare system, the most important thing a doctor can do is work to build trust remembering that this is the process that doesn’t always happen immediately.” (Gesensway) Schwartz claims that even though there can be mistrust between doctors and their patients, one of the most important things is making sure that the patient is comfortable and that they are only suggesting these treatments to help them. However, doctor Schwartz’s method does not work with everybody. A random national sample of 1117 people asked citizens how they feel about aid-in-dying and if they think that having discussions about this topic can affect the trust of patients with their doctors.
She must understand the doctor's instructions and the patient's concerns. Her communications skills focus on both giving and receiving information as well as creating an environment of confidence. Some consequences of ineffective communication can be chaos, confusion, disorder, fear, conflict, inefficient systems, and wasted resources (Vertino, 2014). An ineffective communication can lead to errors in patient’s misdiagnosis and even medication on admission, during hospital stay, and after discharge, and whether these errors were potentially harmful.
An example of this are several deaths due to “unsafe discharges” caused by poor communication during handover (Royal College of Nursing Great Britain, 2014). Through effective communication the disease’s effects can be reduced through a quick response to a deteriorating patient and efficiently provide co-ordinated care to provide the correct treatment
The only other time that you should be able to disclose information would be when you have gotten consent from the patient that has told you the information. The opposing side of the argument has also said that the information should be able to be given out to anyone that inquires about it. I disagree with this stance because most information given in confidence should be kept confidential. If someone were to willingly share information with anyone that asks there could be consequences that come along with that. Some of these could be a child disclosing something that is happening at home to a medical professional and then the professional tells or confronts the parents or guardians of the child then things could and most likely will get worse for them at home.
Truth telling and confidentiality depend upon the situations. It is right to tell the truth in certain but it is also right to hide something from the patients in certain situations. According to utilitarianism one should usually tell the truth and keep one’s promise because you should always perform an action that provides maximum utility and if keeping a promise and telling the truth makes someone happy then it is providing maximum utility.