Doctor-patient Communication from Doctors' Perspectives

Abstract

Objectives: Communication skill is one of the categories of core competencies for medical education. Medical education institutes are aware of the importance of techniques of teaching and assessing doctor-patient relationship. However, research on what to teach in this course is limited in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to develop a course guideline for teaching doctor-patient communication for medical students in Taiwan, which would be informed by a checklist of doctor-patient communication competencies. Methods: Thirteen senior physicians were interviewed by use of an in-depth semi-structured approach. Data of interviews were analyzed by the coding procedure of grounded theory. Results: The study found three categories that affect doctor-patient communication skills. The first category is personal factors that include family experience, gender, year, self-awareness, emotion management, etc. The second category consists of supportive and inappropriate language and behaviors. These include doctors' attitudes, language, explanation for treatment procedure, problem solving, etc. The third category comprises the other negative factors, include the health insurance system, difficult patients, the limitations of medical systems, etc. Conclusions: This research compared the results with competencies developed by other researchers. It also provides instructors of medical education in Taiwan with a better understanding of guidelines for teaching communication courses.