Doctors Talk, but Do Patients Understand?

This is a question that Dr. Pauline Chen discussed in today's doctor and patient column. She began to tell the impressive story of former professional athlete "Jack" who had serious health problems.

Despite his fame and wealth, Jack has not taken care of himself for many years. He repeatedly entered the hospital, had less time to spend at home, and increased hospitalization. Over the years, he neglected his high blood pressure and irreversibly hurt his heart and kidney. He ignored his blood glucose control and was suffering from diabetic foot ulcers that grew more and more and did not heal. ...

I think Jack's health literacy is limited now. He did not understand the seriousness and complexity of his illness, nor did he care for himself. And his pride made it impossible to ask him for help.

To learn more about how Jack and health literacy will affect your health, read Dr. Chen's complete column "Do you know what your doctor is talking about?"

Physicians can also eliminate an understanding of the patient's health risk by providing patient with a descriptive explanation. Sometimes problems arise when the patient can not understand what the doctor is talking about. This may be because their educational level and background level are different. In my opinion, this misunderstanding can be corrected by appropriate and detailed explanation of the patient. For example, physicians can use medical terms in order to explain disease or treatment risks or influences, rather than using a brief term or rewriting a medical term to a patient in order to better understand the patient . In addition, the doctor can use analogy to explain the health risk. Family doctor Jeffrey K. Pearson said that using the analogy really helped him.

The way to help you understand how to talk to patients and understand their problems is very important in the medical field. Doctors tend to use specific terms that many patients do not understand, but nurses use simple terms to explain what doctors say. Another topic that can be included in the nursing profession is the ability to communicate directly with patients and comfort patients and their families and friends. As nurses are usually the first people in the hospital room, nurses should be alert and respond promptly. According to Tarlier (2004), establishing relationships with patients will bring about respect, trust, and interrelations among patients. This can provide a framework for caring for the relationship between the nurse and the patient.

Nursing is a fast-paced work and it is important to be able to quickly convey information to other nurses and doctors. But when you talk to a patient, when you speak too fast, or when using language and abbreviations, they do not understand that the patient can be turned off. RN's Lisa Belanger talks to the nurse slowly and in easy-to-understand language and urges him to give a detailed explanation. Asking "yes" or "no" makes it easy for patients to answer in words. This means that there is no important information necessary to provide the best care. Asking unresolved questions will force patients to explain their emotions and experiences in more detail and make additional questions for further evaluation or create more specific care plans It is a care communication technique that makes it easy to do.