B9376 - BASI DI COMUNICAZIONE NELLA PROFESSIONE MEDICA

Learning outcomes

This course will teach skills related to verbal and non verbal communication for the medical profession. Students will learn how to give clear and relevant information by adapting verbal and non verbal communication to the cognitive and emotional status of patients/ caregivers. Students will learn to recognize the variations in the emotions, mood and stress perceived by patients in different clinical settings. They will learn and apply empathy-oriented strategies of interaction to improve compliance to medical care. They will learn principles of medical ethics, and how to obtain informed consent from patients/caregivers for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Course contents

• The Role of Effective Communication in Clinical Outcomes
  Exploring how communication impacts treatment adherence, and recovery.

• Common Mistakes and Fallacies in Healthcare Communication
  Identification and analysis of frequent errors and misconceptions in clinical interactions.

• The Impact of Emotions on Communication
  Understanding how emotional states influence both verbal and non-verbal communication in healthcare settings.

• Social Learning in Clinical Practice
  Examining the role of observation, and modeling in communication skills.

• Bias in Care Delivery
  Analysis of biases that may affect the provision of care, with particular focus on gender biases and stigma associated with illness.

• Social Modulation of Pain
  How interpersonal interactions and empathy can influence the perception of pain.

• In-Class Exercises: Practicing Empathic Listening
  Interactive activities focused on active listening, perspective-taking, and emotional validation.

• In-Class Exercises: Managing Difficult Emotions
  Interactive activities aimed at improving responses to anger, fear, grief, and frustration in clinical encounters.

Readings/Bibliography

Goldstein E.B. Cognitive Psychology. Connecting mind, research, and everyday Experience. Third Edition 2011, 2008 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

Benedetti F. (2013) Placebo and the new physiology of the doctor-patient relationship Physiol Rev 93: 1207–1246

Colloca L. Finnis D. (2012). Nocebo effects, patient-clinician communication, and therapeutic outcomes. JAMA, 307: 567-8

O'Connor, Stephen J.; Trinh, Hanh Q.; Shewchuk, Richard M.Perceptual Gaps in Understanding Patient Expectations for Health Care Service Quality, Health Care Management Review 25(2):p 7-23, Spring 2000. [https://journals.lww.com/hcmrjournal/toc/2000/04000]

Stewart M, Brown JB, Donner A, McWhinney IR, Oates J, Weston WW, et al. The impact of patient-centered care on outcomes. J Fam Pract. 2000;49(9):796–804.

Teaching methods

The course consists of 1 CFU of 17 hours of lectures supported by slides and interactive, hands-on activities.

Students will actively participate in exercises and in-class discussions.

Attendance is mandatory. To pass the course, students must attend at least 60% of the scheduled lectures. Students who do not meet this minimum attendance requirement will not receive credit for the course and will be required to retake relevant classes again during the following academic year.

Excused absences may be granted upon submission of appropriate documentation in cases of illness or other serious circumstances. Authorized absences will not be counted against the student’s attendance record when calculating the minimum attendance requirement.

Assessment methods

To pass the course, students must obtain a pass mark, which will be achieved by attending at least 60% of the lectures and completing all required practical activities.

Teaching tools

All course materials presented during lectures and in-class activities will be made available online through the University of Bologna’s e-learning platform, 'Virtuale'

Office hours

See the website of Maria Ida Gobbini