I’ve become chronically ill. Officially
I recently got a letter from my GP practice. It says that I received it because I have a long-term condition and I am invited to attend a ‘long term conditions clinic appointment’. Here are a few comments.
Just talk
Whenever I’m asked about communication skills, I’m torn. I support efforts to make clinical communication better, more useful for me, the patient. But then the linguist inside me raises his (ugly?) discourse analytic head. And so, here is my second post on communication skills.
Communicating power, skilfully
I avoid speaking about communication skills. This is because I am sceptical about them. I find these well-meant positive rules for communication too general and acontextual. And yet, this is a post about them.
Communicate with me, doctor, not your patient
When I analyse clinical communication I offer critique, I show additional contexts, ambiguities or assumptions behind what clinicians or patients say. In consequence, one of the most frequent questions (trainee) clinicians ask me me is how to say things right. This post is another explanation why there is no ‘golden mean’ of communication.
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