The act of communicating

[摘要] I read the discussion paper on communication skills by Professor Skelton with interest.1 Having been involved in the teaching of communication skills to medical students and GP registrars for some years I feel that the paper raised interesting issues about the subject and its future. Traditionally the model of medical expertise used to design teaching (and assessments) considered the three domains of knowledge, skills and attitudes. A fourth domain of problem-solving skills was later added. In this model, communication and consultation teachers use a skills-based approach to facilitate learning. We tend to speak of consultation skills, often forgetting the important aspects of knowing what to do (knowledge) and the manner in which to do it (attitude) as well as how to do it (skill). The domains are not independent and more recently educationalists are thinking in terms of roles or competences. For successful completion of a task or role, different aspects of medical competence have to be integrated.2 Thus, as Skelton concludes, we also need to think outside the narrow limits of ‘skills' and consider our trainees’ professional attitudes as well.

[学科分类] 卫生学