Families are the context within which most health problems and illnesses occur, and skillful family interviewing improves health outcomes. Despite changing demographics of American families, most patients live with family members and are strongly influenced by family relationships. The family…
Most Americans say that religion is important to them. If you ignore this dimension, you limit your ability to attend to your patients’ needs. Religious beliefs impact patients’ health and responses to disease, and they exert a special influence during…
In this module we identify basic principles of taking the sexual history. This module offers a framework for approaching the interview and some practical suggestions for ways to normalize sexual history and make it a routine. We focus on special…
The goal of shared decision making is to foster patients’ informed participation in decisions about their health. Shared decision-making rests on the ethical principles of respect for persons and autonomy and promotion of patient well-being. Evidence in the medical literature…
Extensive research produced robust evidence that the use of patient-centered and relationship-centered counseling skills enhances patients’ likelihood of successful change. This module reviews the “5 A’s” – Assess, Agree, Advise, Assist, and Arrange – and describe specific skills to implement…
In this module, we invite you to envision difference and diversity as resources for improving patient care. We delineate skills that can bridge differences and lower the anxiety that accompanies straying outside your cultural “comfort zone.” Diplomate Engagement Self-assessment questions…
The module explains nonverbal communication all the behavioral signals that go on between interacting individuals, exclusive of the verbal content. When two or more of us are together, we human beings cannot fail to communicate at all times, even when…
During the medical interview, patients’ strong emotions tend to elicit strong emotions in their clinicians. Depending on clinicians’ skill and self-awareness, those emotions can lead to productive exploration of important clinical issues, or they can threaten therapeutic relationships. This module…
Closing an interview is a complex endeavor, and your success depends both on your skillful approach to preceding interview segments and the skills you employ in the closing moments. The closure of any patient encounter includes specific behaviors and interactions…
Reaching agreement is a complex process that includes identifying the nature of the problem, defining preferred roles and involvement in decision making, agreeing on goals, and gathering and sharing biomedical and psychosocial information. Participants in this process must address feelings,…
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