ESL 059: ORAL COMMUNICATION FOR HEALTH CARE
(General Class Outline)
I. BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION IN HEALTH CARE
From the worker’s point of view:
Busy schedule and other job demands
Multiple simultaneous conversations in the workplace
Language barriers:
Different primary languages
Medical, physical or psychosocial barriers to clear
communication
Difficult or new technology and/or organizational structure
Lack of adequate training prior to and/or after hire
Fear
Frustration
Anger
Lack of understanding
From the point of view of the patient or patient’s family:
Busy schedule (work and/or family responsibilities)
Busy atmosphere in an unfamiliar setting
Language barriers (same as above)
Fear
Discomfort (physical or psychological)
Frustration about access to healthcare
Anger
Lack of understanding:
About health condition as understood by health care
workers
About the health care system
II. RESPONSIBILITY RESTS WITH THE HEALTH CARE PREOFSSIONAL TO TRY TO
BREAK THROUGH COMMUNICATION BARRIERS. Professional behaviors required
achieve optimum communication with patients and families include:
Respect:
For the patient
For visitors
For other caregivers
For self
Appropriate tone of voice
Appropriate word choice
Language level that is understandable to patients/families, but not “dumbed
down” or insulting.
III. BASIC RECEPTION AND TELEPHONE RESPONSIBILITIES
Welcoming/admitting
LISTENING
Providing information/teaching
Offering choices (empowerment of the client)
Anticipating questions and problems/ troubleshooting
Patient Privacy/HIPAA regulations
Accurate record keeping:
Correct spelling, especially of names and numbers
Correct grammar in narrative charting
Reporting to other medical staff
IV. SPECIAL SITUATIONS
Difficult clients/visitors
Working with interpreters
Unfamiliar cultures and beliefs: How much to health care workers need to know?
Emergencies:
Medical emergencies, including CPR
Threatening behavior from clients/visitors
Reporting Errors/incident reports
Dealing with coworkers or bosses
Integrity on the job.
The above outline will be used for initial and ongoing class discussion.
Each class will begin with a pronunciation segment which will follow "Pronunciation for Success," Colleen Meyers &
Cheryl Holt, Aspen Productions, for this class and employ the corresponding CD recordings.
Oral practice will include planned and printed dialogues and progress through partially controlled dialogue, and toward free
dialogue, especially role play, using hypothetical health care situations.
During the first week of class, and thereafter as needed, the instructor will survey and assess the needs and language levels of the
students. Because each class will differ in the students' language levels, fields of employment and interests, and because each
instructor's teaching style differs, this class is designed for a certain amount of flexibility in lesson progression. There may be
differences in the amount of class time devoted to different components of the pronunciation lessons, the content of the dialogue
practice, and general class discussions. Instructors will adjust their lesson plans after assessing projected class needs, areas of
interest and progression in acquisition of the skills being taught.
The content of the dialogue portion of the class will draw partially upon "Nursing in a New Language," Melanie Charles et.al.,
Lynx Publishing (especially likely to be used are parts #3, #4, #7, #8, #12, #14, #16, and #20).
Instructors may also draw upon other published or unpublished material to supplement the class.