It seems I have come full circle…
For those who have been around since the beginning, you may recall a mention of http://stirrupsandstories.mosaicglobe.com/page/14353.
Communication in healthcare is an infinite abyss of networks of senders and receivers of messages, nonverbal and verbal. In order to simplify life, I hereby elect to focus on improving communication between care-providers and patients (women) in gynecological clinical settings. Again, I invite you all to look at the truly motivating expressions on this website.
- Improved Explanatory Model/ Expanded Use of “”
- Change of Clinical Visit Structure (Plan-Do-Review)
- Improve the Medical Curriculum (Undergraduate, Graduate GME, Continuing CME)
- Provision of an Intra-staff Joint Communicator
These are some ideas…feel free to comment on feasibility, originality, etc!
A thought about Sex Education
The patient experience in healthcare communications can be defined as the exchange of ideas, information, thoughts, and feelings. But what if the patient is not well versed on the information (anatomy, verbal expression, etc)? Worse yet, what if the healthcare staff is uninformed??
The battles in sex education have been historical and continue to this date. It seems there is never to be a consensus on who should teach it and what should be taught. Regardless, most would agree that their physician, M.D. should know a thing or two about general reproductive health! After all, more than half of all women in the United States and Canada use some form of contraceptive, there are at least 20 abortions for every 100 live births, and not to mention that ~¼ of all sexually active adults are or will be carriers of STDs and/or STIs (reference CDC; 2002, Mosher et al; 1999, Fisher & Boroditsky; and 2008, Jones et al).
Alas, my research in trying to improve communication in the GYN patient experience has led me to a study that disputes this very ideal. According to J. Steinauer et al. / Contraception 80 (2009) 74–80, up to 50% of all undergraduate medical school curriculum providers did not provide training on counseling patients in family planning, infertility, and pregnancy options…give this article a glance, their findings are illuminating!
