Communicating Effectively with Patients

Will focus on:

• Verbal and non-verbal communication

• Asking effective questions

How do clients know we’re listening?

• Eye contact

• Nodding head

• Smiling or other facial reactions

• Verbal cues (“mm-hmm?”, “Oh?”)

• (Possibly) a touch on the hand or arm

Types of Questions

• Open-Ended

• Closed

• Leading

Open-Ended Questions

• Cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no”

• Cannot be answered with a specific piece of information (e.g., name, age, address)

• Should be used throughout treatment

• Particularly effective during intake and early stages of treatment for collecting as much information as possible

Examples of Open-Ended Questions

“How are you?”

“Tell me why you’ve come to our clinic today?”

“How do you feel about knowing that you have TB?”

Closed Questions

• Questions that can only be answered using “yes,” “no”, or with a specific piece of information

• Best used to obtain specific pieces of information

• Should be avoided at the beginning of treatment (except when seeking identifying information)

Examples of Closed Questions

“Did you take your medication today?”

“How old are you?”

“Can you come to the office next week for a follow up appointment?”

Leading Questions

• Masquerade as genuine questions, but have a “right” or “wrong” answer (according to questioner)

• Are patronizing and judgmental and should be avoided

Examples of Leading Questions

“You don’t really think that’s a good idea, do you?”

“You’re not going to disappoint me by not taking your medication, are you?”