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MUMBAI: Given the worsening doctor-patient relationship across the country, one of the country’s premier management schools has decided to "train’’ doctors in soft skills. Come August, doctors and hospital administrators can attend classroom sessions to learn, among other things, how to soothen frayed nerves with minimal or no words at all, the art of listening and the role of empathy in the healing process.

``Non-verbal communication has a special relevance in healthcare because patients pay close attention to the non-verbal signals of health professionals. They rely on these signals to gain trust before any verbal interaction takes place,’’ said Professor Deepa Sethi from IIM Kozhikode who has designed the course after a national survey.

Her study conducted among 250 patients from various hospitals across the country found that patient compliance with a treatment ``depends largely upon their considering the doctor as empathetic.’’ Her earlier studies, too, had found that doctors who maintain eye contact or use a soft tone are more likely to win a patient’s confidence than those who don’t. ``My researches have identified four factors that affect a patient’s response to the doctor’s treatment and indicates the need for formal training in communication for doctors in factors like: eye contact, active listening, interpersonal skills, social touch, appearance and body language,’’ she told TOI.

Considering that incidence of violence against doctors and healthcare institutes are increasing, experts, both within and outside the medical fraternity, feel such interventions can help. Dr Nikhil Datar of the Patient Safety Alliance said, ``Such courses would be useful because our medical schools don’t have the time to focus on this aspect. On a working day, outpatient departments of our government hospitals seen hundreds of patients, speaking an extra sentence to even one patient can lead to a delay for other patients.’’

A senior doctor pointed out that most old-timers had a paternalistic attitude towards patients and don’t like being questioned. ``The old dictum was lesser the questions asked, the better for patients. Such paternalistic attitude is still the norm in most medical schools. Students see their professors behaving in this manner and imbibe it,’’ said the doctor, adding that `` poor communication skills among doctors is hence not surprising’’.

Dr Lalit Kapoor, who is in charge of the medico-legal cell of the Association of Medical Consultants, said any move to improve communication between doctors and patients is welcome. ``In the US, doctors are asked to undergo courses on listening. In my lectures on the topic of doctor-patient relationship, I always include a slide that shows that an unanswered question is most likely to be at the bottom of every flare-up,’’ he said. If a doctor, due to a preoccupation, is unable to answer a question, it can lead to anxiety for the patients and his/her family. ``This anxiety becomes aggravation, which turns into anger, which drives them to social workers or the media with complaints against doctors.’’

