Patient‐centred care and compulsory admission to hospital: students consider communication skills in mental health care
| Pages | 26-34 |
| Date | 11 December 2009 |
| Published date | 11 December 2009 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17556228200900030 |
| Author | Stephen Abbott,Julie Attenborough,Annie Cushing,Mary Hanrahan,Ania Korszun |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
26 The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice Volume 4 Issue 4 December 2009 © Pier Professional Ltd
Patient-centred care and
compulsory admission to hospital:
students consider communication
skills in mental health care
Abstract
Medical and nursing students are often anxious
about commun icating with p atients with
mental health problems, even when they have
received general communication skills training.
Communication is particularly challenging when
patients are compulsorily admitted to hospital.
The study repor ted here sought to ex plore
medical and nursing students’ attitudes to
this challenge, stimulated by watching a DVD
illustrating professional–patient communications
in this situation. Facilitated discussions of the
DVD were recorded and the transcripts were
thematically analysed. A strong commitment to
three underlying principles of patient-centred care
emerged.
1. A preference for egalitarian over authoritarian
rela tionsh ips betw een patie nts and
professionals.
2. A preference for empathetic over bureaucratic
approaches to patients.
3. Respect for patients as autonomous beings.
Students seemed less aware of the need for clear
and effective communication of information, and
some appear confused about patient–professional
boundaries.
Key words
patient -centred care; commun ication skills;
inte rprofes sional educati on; comp ulsory
admission; undergraduate studies
Stephen Abbott
Research Fellow, Education Development Unit, School of Community and Health Sciences,
City University London
Julie Attenborough
Senior Lecturer, Education Development Unit, School of Community and Health Sciences,
City University London
Annie Cushing
Reader in Communication Skills, Head of CCLSU School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary
University of London
Mary Hanrahan
Former Senior Lecturer, Education Development Unit, School of Community and Health Sciences, City
University London
Ania Korszun
Reader in Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London
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