What should healthcare professionals learn?

I was lucky enough to spend two days attending the Placebo Symposium in Sydney in November this year – what an experience! A lineup of the cream of researchers exploring placebo and contextual responses (meaning responses) – all were excellent speakers and the focus was on both research and what this means to clinicians. If you’re keen to watch all you can for free over the next two weeks – click here: www.placebo.armchairmedical.tv. At the end of the symposium, the speakers were asked a question by artist Eugenie Lee what subjects they would want taught if they had all the facilities and students with top class skills attending. This is what they said (it’s the Lennox Thompson translation, any mis-translations are entirely my responsibility): Inform students about the contextual effects of every single clinical encounter and treatment Help them focus on supporting patients to develop helpful expectations about treatments Read Stanislovski (A good doctor [healthcare professional] is about being a good actor) Always remember: we’re treating people not tissues Use words wisely (they can heal – and harm) Listen to your patients (and show them you’re listening) Interprofessionalism is a thing Talk with your patients not at them Train together with your allied health colleagues Ignore “placebo” or contextual effects at your peril “Placebo” will eventually die – but the effect of context lives on in ever...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - Category: Anesthesiology Authors: Tags: Research Science in practice biopsychosocial Clinical reasoning healthcare Source Type: blogs