Competency I: Effective Communication
I. Definitions
- The competent graduate listens attentively and communicates
with patients, families, and health care team members.
- The graduate establishes the rapport necessary to form
and maintain a therapeutic relationship with the patient.
II. Levels of Achievement
A. Level One:
- Students communicate effectively in informal written
communications, such as descriptive reports.
- Students demonstrate competence in oral communications
in one-on-one settings, such as with an individual patient or faculty member,
or in small group settings such as seminars.
- In dealing with patients, students are expected only
to follow prescribed elementary processes for the interview and write-up,
such as one would find in a basic interviewing handbook.
B. Level Two:
- Students communicate effectively in formal written communication,
such as history and physical examination write-ups, progress reports, essay
exams, term papers, and formal reports.
- Students demonstrate competence in oral communication
in the context of small groups, such as work rounds in the hospital or
small group discussions in seminars.
- The student should be able to integrate clinical reasoning
into the interviewing. This would be reflected in a less rigid and structured
approach in which clues and competing hypotheses would be pursued in a
rich, branching network of associations.
C. Level Three
- Students communicate effectively in written communication
of publication quality, such as a manuscript, dissertation, or grant proposal.
- Students will demonstrate competence in oral communication
in the context of large groups and formal presentations, such as at a professional
meeting.
III. Assessment Criteria
- Effective listening that
is: attentive, non-judgmental, patient, and maintains eye contact.
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- Respect for patient as a person
by: eliciting and respecting patients' values, exhibiting cultural sensitivity,
communicating empathy, maintaining confidentiality, conforming to ethical
guidelines.
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- Effective use of speech in
a clear, comprehensible, organized, and audience-appropriate manner.
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- Effective use of written language by productively reading medical literature, understanding and
appropriately using medical jargon and abbreviations, producing written
communications that are legible, sensitive, clear, organized, succinct,
and at an appropriate reading level.
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- Effective use of computer technology: understanding and using word processing, and using bibliographic
databases as a resource for research and problem solving.
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