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Communication FUNdamentals
Jan. 13, 2009
Communication Breakdown: Patient Starved to Death
I just recorded an audio for the Say What You Mean Convention this February with a homeschool graduate who is a nursing student. I asked her how important effective communication skills were to the medical profession (between doctors and nurses, patients and their caregivers). You'll have to wait until February 6th to hear her inspiring interview, but I will tell you that she said she was taught that communication skills are vital to the nursing profession.
The day before I taped the interview, I found this article which sadly illustrates this point. Here are some excerpts which explain:
"A vulnerable patient starved to death in an NHS hospital after 26 days without proper nourishment. Martin Ryan, 43, had suffered a stroke which left him unable to swallow.
But a 'total breakdown in communication' meant he was never fitted with a feeding tube. It was one of a number of horrific cases where the NHS fatally failed patients with learning difficulties..."
"Mr Ryan, who had Down's syndrome, died in hospital in Kingston-upon-Thames. An internal inquiry by the hospital found that doctors had thought nurses were feeding him through a tube in his nose. By the time they found out this was not happening, he was too weak for an operation to insert a tube into his stomach. He died in agony five days later. "
The article goes on to talk about the dangers and difficulties for those with disabilities which don't allow them to communicate with caregivers. Unfortunately, the caregivers are sometimes not diligent enough to discover these issues before it is too late.
If you have disabled relatives in the hospital (or going to a doctor visit) who cannot communicate well, please have a family member go along with them to be their voice and their advocate.
SIDE BAR: A few years ago, an AMA article reported that a significant number of Medical Malpractice cases were due to miscommunication and not to medical mistakes. They suggested effective communication training for doctors.
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From JoJo's Purple Crayon
 Teaching communication skills the FUN way!
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