In this episode you’ll learn some of what makes this series tick, one of the secret ingredients that makes it unique, and why you’re brave for listening to this show!
This podcast series, 10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication, has passed fifty thousand downloads! What?! So in this episode you’ll learn some of what makes this series tick, one of the secret ingredients that makes it unique, why 50,000 downloads is such a big deal, and why you’re brave for listening to this show. Hi everybody, I’m Dr. Anne Marie Liebel. This is 10 Minutes To Better Patient Communication From Health Communication Partners, an independent, health equity-focused communication and education consultancy.
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Now, we work really hard to make this series, but it’s you who’ve made this number happen. Thank you! Thank you for listening, thank you for downloading, thank you for sharing, thank you for getting in touch with me. And part of why this means so much to me is that the spread is mainly by word of mouth. So, thank you!
You tell me that you like the show because it’s short right? 10 minutes! You appreciate that I give context, that I break things down, and as someone just wrote me last week, you always walk away with something. Well that’s great! You’re finding things that are helpful– 50,000 times which is awesome! You’re taking 10 minutes out of your incredibly busy, often over-scheduled day to reflect on the research and practice of communication and education across the health sector. So I’m officially one of your biggest fans.
We try really hard with 10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication to be encouraging. But we know the reason that you listen to the show is to learn about patient communication, health communication, health literacy, patient education. So yeah, encouragement is important because this is a long road–I’m telling you, you’re not walking it alone. Ultimately the show is built on a specific knowledge base about literacy and learning and language that I adapt to the problems you tell me you’re having across health, public health, digital health. That’s why you’re here above all else.
Since we’ve launched the show more than 50,000 downloads, and people constantly and consistently coming to healthcommunicationpartners.com to read and learn about this critical, social perspective on patient communication, education, health literacy, health communication.
I want to explain a little bit about what that means. To put it bluntly, you already know about health education or patient education or patient communication, health literacy. You have some maybe even a lot of formal education about these topics under your belt. What this show gives you, what I try and bring, are additional tools, right? Tools and approaches that you don’t typically hear, that you don’t usually get, but that I worked hard to adapt and modify so that they are appropriate for you and so that you can use them to work with what you’re already doing.
Most often I hear that you want to know how to be more effective and efficient across all social groups as, working as well with diverse communities as you do with mainstream audiences. And I am here for that! You know I’m in the health sector from the education sector. That means I have my hand on some of the best research in the world–some of the most fundamental research, as well as some of the most groundbreaking, equitable approaches to education and communication that there are. And in the show I pull from this.
Basically this is my taking the conversations that I’ve had, and continue to have, with you and people like you, the problems that come up repeatedly or really get people fired up, and then I drill down to: okay, here’s research that I know about, that might be able to help you understand the issue that you’re working with a little differently. Here’s some of what we know about it from another, outside of the health sector. It’s always been about bringing to your attention bodies of knowledge that you don’t usually get to see. Knowledge that can help you with some of the problems you’re facing. Because these are intersectional problems, right? And I want to help you build something durable. I’m not interested in participating in trends, but building sustainable structures.
We know how important it is to reach everyone, connect with everyone, educate everyone, engage with everyone, through research practice theory and policy. A part of that means constantly challenging our own assumptions about what it is we’re doing! And this challenging of assumptions is one of the secret ingredients to “10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication.” The particular way I encourage reflective practice. And people tell me this is one of their favorite parts of the show.
Which, my friends, is saying something about you! Because “what do we think we’re doing here?” is one of those kinds of questions that can make some people really itchy! Like, the answer should be self-evident! And if that’s how you’re feeling right now, I understand. Because it seems like, “well, we’re talking to patients” or, “we’re writing public health messages.” But when we look closely, ask a couple follow-up questions, poke at it, we see it’s much more than that.
And you tune in for this show! Which is part of, another reason, why I’m one of your biggest fans!
And it takes some courage and bravery to kind of step outside your disciplinary lane, and hear what someone else has to say. And you’re doing that! You’re staying open, and it takes courage to do this. It takes courage to question assumptions. It takes courage to reflect, to question ourselves. It can feel threatening to admit, “well, maybe we don’t have all the answers, over here in our hallway.” It can feel threatening to acknowledge the limitations of our own disciplines. That’s part of why 50,000 and more downloads means so much to me: it’s knowing that you’re out there! You’re doing this! You’re listening, wherever you’re at in the health sector!
This is confirmation that the concepts and the tools and the knowledge from these past scholars and generations of practitioners has an audience in you! I’m thrilled to make this show for you, and learn from you and learn about you. You are constantly learning. Research is a part of your practice. You care about educating people–not just most people, everybody. Not just the easy, agreeable people—everybody. Equitably! You care about reading and writing. You care about equity and justice. You want to serve! There is a fierce Spirit of Hope! This is a great community of practice.
And it’s a good thing cuz this stuff is hard! We’re dealing with some of the most complex issues imaginable, right? We need all the help we can get! All hands on deck! And yet we still need to act with discipline and rigor and high standards for research. Because this stuff is hard! We can’t be messy. We can’t be losing time. Now, you could be turning away. You could be choosing not to see. Not to struggle. “Welp! not my lane!” But you’re not! That’s a sign of bravery.
Thank you for listening. Thank you to those who have been here from the start, locked in and engaged. I really appreciate when you contact me on social media. But if you’re new here, I want to welcome you, too. Definitely be in touch. Message me on Twitter or linked. Go to HealthCommunicationPartners sign up for the newsletter.
Whether or not you knew this, this series is self-funded and independent. There are three ways you can support this series and your own learning. One of them is a course on your medical metaphors and how to improve them. One of them is an audiobook bundle on addressing bias in your language–spoken language, written language. And the third is an audiobook bundle on effective patient education. I made all of them for you. All of them support this series. And all of them are grounded in equity.
I want to thank you again for the downloads! Thank you for listening! This has been “10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication” from Health Communication Partners. I’m Dr. Anne Marie Liebel. Audio engineering and music by Joe Liebel.