Call me ….Maybe? 5 Suggestions to Improve Communication With Other Health Care Professionals

I recently had a family come to me for feeding treatment. They wanted to feed their child an age-appropriate diet of finger foods, but the child didn’t have the necessary oral-motor skills. When I expressed safety concerns to the client’s mother, she seemed to write me off. I called the client’s pediatrician and expressed my concern for a severe choking hazard. We share a medical records system, so I saw my voicemail was received and transcribed by the physician’s office. The physician responded with one word, “noted.” Sometimes, it’s frustrating to deal with other medical professionals when you feel you are not being heard. I find these approaches helpful when I try to reach out to other health care professionals: As Martina McBride sang, “Do it anyway.” Make the call. Send the email. You may not get a response, but do it anyway. There’s a chance your patient will be at their doctor’s office with their fourth ear infection, smiling—but not talking—when the doctor sees a transcribed voicemail from you in the files suggesting genetic testing. You do it for your patient, not for the doctor. More on professional communication and civility Do you see clinical fellows getting bullied? Speak up, intervene and work on prevention. Successful strategies to help battle incivility and bullying in the workplace. A nursing professor shares how faculty can treat each other more respectfully and courteously in academic settings. Ask how they prefer to communicate...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Health Care interprofessional practice Source Type: blogs