Perhaps the biggest barrier to communication in healthcare is the loss of direct verbal speech.
I was in hell. I knew I had anorexia, but it doesn't stop you from trying to deny it. Lying and trying to hide it from yourself and others become part of the norm.
Patients have told us they are confused by the term self-management and what it means for them and their healthcare? Are they to be abandoned and left to their own devices?
Translation is a language barrier for many people, especially in the ever-growing globalised societies we live. We will touch on some of the pros and cons of using family members to translate.
My life and the lives of my close family members were turned upside down in May last year. I had just been diagnosed with stage 4 advanced oral cancer in my tongue.
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Recently my friends and I have realised that we are using medical jargon without even noticing. We are medical students and are continually learning.
The NHS has been preparing to embed online consultations in primary care (GP surgeries for some time)
Preparing for difficult conversations with others is key. SPIKES is a helpful strategy to help healthcare professionals have difficult conversations and is outlined in this blog.
