Recently I witnessed some top notch communicators at work in an unexpected place while visiting a family member in the Intensive Care Unit at Medina Hospital, a member of the Cleveland Clinic health system.
You might think this an unlikely scenario for triggering professional observations about communication. But I was seriously impressed. I found myself marveling at how clearly all the hospital personnel managed to convey detailed, complex information. Often experts have difficulty with that, striking the right "tone." Explanations are either patronizingly over-simplified or pitched at too high a level for the listener. But every piece of information we were given was followed by a query regarding our comprehension, and an offer to explain again, using different words! Unlike old-school docs who would simply restate what they had said in a louder voice, trusting all would become clear if they just shouted a bit!
Our patient had some pretty scary stuff going on, and at one point the specialist needed to bring us up to speed. But before he told us what was going to happen next, he asked us to tell him what we understood her condition to be. Then he mirrored our language, finding the right level to communicate critical information. I have not spent much time in ICUs, thank goodness, but I gather from the stories of friends and from my own research that this is not the norm.
Cleveland Clinic's Center for Excellence in Healthcare Communication trains its physicians and staff to focus on relationship centered communication, rather than the old linear model still used by many healthcare providers. And the Clinic's focus on clinician-patient communications works! As family members, we had some anxiety surrounding the medical issues we were seeing, but we never felt in the dark about them. A family that understands what is going on medically is sure to provide better support.
We all know that it is critical to deliver your message clearly in times of crisis. In words that your listeners will understand. But many people still don't take the time to step up their game. I will refrain from making the blanket statement "if critical care doctors and nurses can find the time, surely you can," but I am very glad the medical professionals who staff Medina Hospital's ICU did!
