Overseas-trained medical professionals are valued in Australia and enrich our multicultural society. They play an important role in meeting a skills shortage and in fact, in many rural and remote areas in particular, the local population are heavily dependent on overseas-trained doctors. However, many overseas trained doctors may from time-to-time, experience difficulties in communicating with their patients due to the considerable variation of their backgrounds.
Interestingly, when we consider what patients want, most complaints by patients and the public about doctors deal with problems of communication not with clinical competency.
In fact, many studies have found significant positive associations between doctors’ communication skills and patients’ satisfaction.
To be a practicing doctor in Australia, overseas trained doctors must meet the Medical Registration Board language requirements plus the English language proficiency requirements as set by the Australian Medical Council. Despite this, many doctors and patients experience difficulties with miscommunication. Indeed, this is one of the key issues relating to Australian Medical Council candidates employed in Australian hospitals.
Doctors need a high degree of proficiency in the language being used by their patients, as local colloquial terms and cultural nuances are used frequently in conveying meaning during the consultation. It is important therefore, that doctors seek training in verbal communication to maximize the effectiveness of clinical communication and prevent complaints and poor outcomes.
The first step toward improving communication with patients, Is to acknowledge that a problem exists. You may have found that you are being asked to repeat what you said, or patients may look at you in a confused way. Is your accent distracting your patients? You may even be experiencing frustration and a lack of confidence when speaking.
Accent reduction training can help overseas trained doctors to develop more self-awareness in terms of their problematic areas in their speech and to learn strategies to improve their pronunciation skills. Specialised training can also include training in Australian slang language and idiomatic phrases, which are often used by their patients.
With guidance from a certified pronunciation trainer and consistent practice, you can improve your spoken English skills, enhance communication with patients and increase patient satisfaction.
