This week, I was at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, giving a webinar through the Region 2 Public Health Training Center. It was about addressing unconscious bias in our language. While I was there, I was participating in, or overhearing, multiple conversations about health and healthcare. Some while walking across campus, some while […]
Culturally & Linguistically Appropriate
Free webinar Apr 3 on unconscious bias via Columbia University School of Public Health
Hello friends, I’m so proud to offer a free webinar on unconscious bias in our language, in conjunction with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and the Region 2 Public Health Training Center. It is Tuesday, April 3 at Noon Eastern. Registration is here: https://tinyurl.com/Login2LearnAPR2018 Recent research on unconscious bias has shown how public health, […]
The more differences between you and your patient, the more important it is to ditch deficit thinking
One medical educator wrote me in response to the podcast, “How a small change in what you say can improve your patient education.” She thanked me for giving a ‘name’ to the problem that is a deficit perspective. She pointed out the tension between approaching a patient focused on the problem, and approaching a patient […]
Health communication has all the pitfalls of everyday communication
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could magically leave our awkwardness, doubt, or frustration at the door when we have to communicate in a professional capacity? In the summer of 2016, I was in the audience when Marcella Nunez-Smith, of Yale’s School of Medicine, gave a keynote address to a conference of health communication researchers. In […]
“I don’t want to unintentionally offend people”
I was coaching a physician on communication, and at one point our conversation took an interesting turn. We had been talking about interprofessional communication, when the physician told me she was worried about offending people unintentionally. At first, I thought she was talking about her colleagues. But she also gave some examples of interactions with […]
Two things to remember before you educate your next patient
Today brings a close to a series I started a few months back, called 5 steps to improve your patient education. I promised to take a closer look at each of those 5 steps. So far I’ve written about eliciting patient background knowledge; how you handle your medical knowledge; being clear about your goals for […]