Real-Life Communication
You are a clinical research physician. You are conducting tests
on a cancer drug that must be administered intravenously by a nurse. This
particular drug is very caustic (causes burning). If it leaks out and touches
the skin, it causes blistering and inflammation.
You must explain to
the nurse how to administer the IV so as to avoid complications. You must
instruct the nurse how to place the needle, how fast to infuse the drug, what
the IV solution needs to be, how long the fusion should take, how the patient
should be prepped and how to monitor the patient afterwards to be sure that
all went well.
You have to go through all of this from beginning to
end. You must also be sure the nurse knows how to protect themselves during
the administration -- that is, the nurse must not get the drug on their hands
or eyes.
You have pre-printed guidelines to show the nurse. You must
also talk the nurse through the process, being sure to go over what complications
might occur, the times at which they might occur and what should happen if
complications arise.
Your task now is to get some practice with this
type of communication. As an exercise, look in your bathroom medicine cabinet
and locate a package or bottle of over-the-counter medication, such as a painkiller
or flu medication. (Over-the-counter medication is medication that can be
purchased without a doctor's prescription.)
Pretend that you have to
teach someone how to use this medication safely.
Write the pre-printed
guidelines that you will use. Then, using your guidelines, explain to a friend
how to take the medication.
"Definitely, communication is a really critical
skill," says Dr. Brian Rowe, a clinical research physician.