Enhanced Bedside Manner Heals Patient–Practitioner Communication

Abstract

C OLLECTING AND DOCUMENTing information, such as biochemical data, anthropometric measures, and food or nutrition-related history, are skills that health and nutrition practitioners perform as part of a client’s nutrition assessment. And then there are the less scientific skills—specifically a demonstrated proficiency in verbal and nonverbal communication—that are just as important to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ (the Academy ’s) Nutrition Care Process. Certainly, providing accurate and truthful information in communicating with the public is a priority for all registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) and dietetic technicians, registered (DTRs), and is, in fact, part of the Academy’s code of ethics, but how can this be accomplished effectively in an era marked by increased communication through online social media and less frequent in-person interactions? Simply stated, how can RDNs and DTRs present an engaging bedside manner when their clients or patients are more accustomed to communicating through Facebook or text messages than they are on a face-to-face nutrition counseling session? This communication conundrum is not limited to the nutrition anddietetics profession—other health care providers have been just as stymied by the prospect of improving patienteprovider interactions. To address this challenge, an innovative collaboration between Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) theater and internal medicine departments is using a theater-based approach to teach empathy to medical students and physicians, one of the first programs in the country to form a partnership with theater faculty for this purpose. This article provides an overview of VCU’s Standardized Patient Program, suggestions for RDNs and DTRs to enhance verbal and nonverbal communication, and a self-assessment quiz to help RDNs and DTRs evaluate their bedside manner—and identify areas for improvement.