Medical 2 Introduction

"The Facilitator Resource Guide for Health Professionals:

An Effective Performance Tool for the Healthcare Industry",

is part of a growing body of literature that emphasizes the importance of the same attention being given to our interpersonal communications that in the past have been given to the technologies we use.

As our healthcare delivery system moves more and more into measuring outcomes across integrated delivery systems, the importance of our communication system between providers and other providers, between providers and the patients and between the providers and the ultimate payers of the systems, costs become more and more important.

In the field of medicine, new topics are appearing in our national conventions. Topics such as shared decision-making, physician-directed medical self-care, peer education groups, health promotion management skills, communication strategies for health promotion programming, demand management systems, health and human risk management, and intervention strategies in chronic disease states.

All of these topics, and many others, imply that we would have greater success if we understood the intricacies of interpersonal communications as we attempt to accomplish all of our goals.

For physicians and other healthcare professionals, the outcomes we desire for the people we serve would clearly be improved if they understood our instructions or recommendations and felt confident that they had been understood as they presented their concerns to us. The use of this guide will assist both providers and consumers in better understanding their partnership and relative responsibilities in this process of seeking improved health.

A major concern in the medical world is the undesirable experience of malpractice lawsuits. There is evidence, in our country, that better understanding of expectations, possible side effects, and possible undesirable outcomes, (if carefully explained and documented – but most importantly – well understood by the patient), would lead to fewer malpractice litigation cases.

Stress in the workplace is a major problem in healthcare settings. Improving the understanding of different types and helping each person understand the point of view and the special gifts of other types can dramatically decrease the amount of distress in the workplace.

At all levels, this book can assist professionals in recognizing their own gifts and their own shortcomings and most importantly, understand how they can improve their working relationships with colleagues, co-workers, and clients.

The knowledge in this book will assist professionals in understanding the learning styles of the people. If the information that we would like people to gain is presented in a manner that fits best the learning preferences of the receivers, outcomes will be improved.

Satisfaction issues are increasingly more important in determining whether the patient or student continues to seek the services of the provider. Developing a team of people who recognize the individuality of the patient and use this information to tailor their responses and approaches, will dramatically improve the patient's satisfaction and the success of the clinic or hospital.

Self-directed work teams: One of the “buzz words” today is a self-directed work team. If teams of people who work together have a thorough understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each team member, they will develop a more effective team. Using the strengths of each team member to accomplish tasks that are consistent with their strengths will enhance the overall efficiency. Asking individuals to accomplish tasks that are least in line with their strengths is simply asking for failure.

Any healthcare system that expects to be successful, in the 21^st century, must ensure that they have visionaries within their group or should acquire the services of visionaries, to keep up with the dramatic advances in medical telecommunication, decision support systems, and in general medical technology.