Doctors show human side of medicine

Doctors, nurses and other health care workers are tapping into their inner Tolstoys to better connect with patients.

With increasing regularity, they're meeting in monthly book clubs to discuss medical-themed literature. Humanities courses are now required in many medical schools.

COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS BETWEEN DOCTORS AND NURSES
Ruth C. MacKay*, Kiyo Matsuno{dagger} and Jon Mulligan{ddagger}

* Co-ordinator, Nursing Research Department of Nursing Research Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Verdun Street Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009 Principal Lecturer Western Australian College of Advanced Education
{dagger} Nurse Researcher Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital
{ddagger} Director of Medical Services Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital

Communication difficulties between hospital doctors and nurses are well documented. A survey undertaken jointly by medical and nursing administration at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Western Australia, verified difficulties in doctor—nurse communication as perceived by doctors and nurses, as well as by ward clerks as impartial observers. Questionnaire responses revealed some impediments in the flow of communication. Both nurses and doctors perceived less frequency of difficulties in communicating with members of their own professional group than with members of the other group. Nurses with university preparation and other special clinical qualifications perceived significantly fewer communication problems with doctors than nurses with less education. Interns perceived greater frequency in difficulty communicating with nurses than did more highly qualified doctors, and female doctors who were not interns claimed fewer problems than their male counterparts. Moreover, more highly qualified male doctors who had a previous occupation acknowledged fewer doctor-nurse communication problems.

Keywords: Communication, doctors, nurses, hospital

Received for publication January 9, 1990. Accepted for publication July 29, 1990. For Further Information Visite Here