Communication between doctor and patient is essential. At least theoretically. In practice, Romania has deficiencies in this chapter. In college, students learn a lot of theory, but communication is treated more like a personal talent, which you may or may not have, instead of an essential aspect of being a doctor, as is the case in the UK, for example. The topic was debated at the Healthcare Forum event, organized by The truth.
The lesson from Britain
For doctor Lucian G. Pop, when he arrived in the UK to continue his training in obstetrics and gynecology, first at Medway Maritime Hospicel, then to King’s College Hospitalthe first observed difference was not of a technical nature.
“The first thing that strikes you is the communication. I was told from the beginning that we, who come from Eastern Europe, do not know how to communicate with the patient,” said the doctor during the event organized by Adevărul.
In the UK healthcare system, communication with the patient is an explicitly assessed competency, including in examinations.
“Communication must be empathetic, the first thing. And in their exams, even if you don’t know the subject well, you can pass the exam if you tell a patient <
>”.
Communication with the patient is taught, practiced and assessed throughout the training, not as a separate and theoretical subject, but integrated into all clinical disciplines.
“I think that in Great Britain they have a lot of problems now, but they got a few things right: teaching, education and training. Everyone teaches everyone,” said Dr. Lucian G. Pop.
Protocols are reflex
Beyond communication, the doctor identified a second difference: protocol culture.
“You learn the guides by heart. Because there’s a lot of hands-on training. And when you have a postpartum hemorrhage, you can’t sit around and think about what to do, you have to know.”
Dr. Pop invoked a comparison frequently used in Western medical systems: that between pilots and doctors.
“Both pilots and doctors tend to overestimate their ability; pilots think they can drive more, doctors think they can work more. But if you have a protocol every day, which you follow and check every box, the risk of complications is lower.”
What is happening in Romania
Doctor Cătălin Cîrstoveanu, head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Department, from the Children’s Emergency Clinical Hospital, also spoke about the differences in approach.Marie Curie”.
“Education in the West is focused on what a specialist doctor can do at the end of the specialization in the respective countries. We are focused on teaching them all day: giving them PowerPoints, telling them, telling them. And they leave residency without knowing how to do anything with their hands. The focus abroad is different: know how to do, be independent, handle critical situations, know how to communicate with the patient. There is a specific training group in resident: to know how to behave with the patient”.
Dr. Cîrstoveanu, who leads a department with a huge emotional charge, told how things happen there:
“We take the residents with us in various situations: when the parents are crying, when the parents are dissatisfied, when the parents are angry, when the parents are happy. Look how… Sometimes we make ourselves vulnerable in front of them and we don’t know how to do things. It’s not exactly like the book, because we are human. But we teach them how we are in various situations in front of patients.”
A project that can change something
And on a general level, as regards the education of young doctors, Romania will begin to align itself with Western practice, says Dr. Cătălin Cîrstoveanu.
“That’s what we’re doing at the moment. It’s a big European project, led by Professor Poiană in Romania. And, together with the Ministry of Health, they’re trying to synchronize the Romanian education curricula with the European ones, in which an important part means <
>”.
Good practices must be brought to Romania, emphasizes the doctor, again “What is good about Romanians must be speculated enormously. Because we have sensational doctors in this country”.
