I have not undergone any special training in communication skills. I just believe in speaking what I mean, and I make a point of being very precise when I give instructions to people I work with. I think that works fine. Well, it used to until recently. The following two stories should be illustrative enough.
We had a young patient who was bleeding and would not stop doing so despite therapy with tranexamic acid and later with progestins. "Give her combination contraceptive pills three times a day for 48 hours, by which time bleeding will stop, and then reduce the dose to twice a day. Give that for 18 days. She should require two packs of the pills" I told my Resident Doctor. Three days later she was back with a question -
"Sir, you said I should give that patient combination pills three times a day. then stop for 48 hours and then give the pills twice a day for 18 days" she said.
I was amazed. I repeated what I had said in exactly the same words, speed and tone as before. I could do that because I have been saying that for the last 31 years."How did you understand you had to stop the drug administration for 48 hours when I said the bleeding will stop in 48 hours?" There was no answer, and I am without a clue how she heard that way.
The other story is about my communication with a nurse. Someone asked for information about deliveries in our center on 28-12-10 (dd-mm-yy format). The question had to be answered because it was asked under the right to information act. I called the labor ward nurse and asked for the confinement book (the register in which all data on childbirth are entered) with the record of 28-12-10. A half hour later she sent a register with the desired page marked. I opened it. It had entries for 28-10-12. I explained to the servant that I wanted data of 28-12-10 and not 28-10-12. He went back. Another half hour later she sent him with another register with a page mark. I opened it expectantly. It had data for 28-12-12. I was without a clue what made her do so. I finally wrote on the page mark itself '28-12-10' and sent it back, asking for record of the date I had written. I hope she sends me the correct record tomorrow.
I know I have to improve my communication skills to get work done, because there seems no way to improve listening skills of people I communicate with. I just don't know how.
We had a young patient who was bleeding and would not stop doing so despite therapy with tranexamic acid and later with progestins. "Give her combination contraceptive pills three times a day for 48 hours, by which time bleeding will stop, and then reduce the dose to twice a day. Give that for 18 days. She should require two packs of the pills" I told my Resident Doctor. Three days later she was back with a question -
"Sir, you said I should give that patient combination pills three times a day. then stop for 48 hours and then give the pills twice a day for 18 days" she said.
I was amazed. I repeated what I had said in exactly the same words, speed and tone as before. I could do that because I have been saying that for the last 31 years."How did you understand you had to stop the drug administration for 48 hours when I said the bleeding will stop in 48 hours?" There was no answer, and I am without a clue how she heard that way.
The other story is about my communication with a nurse. Someone asked for information about deliveries in our center on 28-12-10 (dd-mm-yy format). The question had to be answered because it was asked under the right to information act. I called the labor ward nurse and asked for the confinement book (the register in which all data on childbirth are entered) with the record of 28-12-10. A half hour later she sent a register with the desired page marked. I opened it. It had entries for 28-10-12. I explained to the servant that I wanted data of 28-12-10 and not 28-10-12. He went back. Another half hour later she sent him with another register with a page mark. I opened it expectantly. It had data for 28-12-12. I was without a clue what made her do so. I finally wrote on the page mark itself '28-12-10' and sent it back, asking for record of the date I had written. I hope she sends me the correct record tomorrow.
I know I have to improve my communication skills to get work done, because there seems no way to improve listening skills of people I communicate with. I just don't know how.
