Face-to-face: What you say
Despite everything we’ve said on the previous pages about the importance of body language and the use of your voice, most of the rest of your career will focus on acquiring knowledge so that you know WHAT to say and ask during professional interactions. Every clinical tutorial on this learning portal has a list of suggested questions to ask in the 'Your Practice' sections. There are also some general questions to ask when problem solving.So, here we will offer just a few simple messages about content:
It’s always important to introduce yourself properly. Say who you are and what you do. You should do this on the phone as well as in person. If you forget to do it at the beginning of a conversation, then it's ok to throw it in later: "Oh, I'm Murat Shah, by the way, the pharmacist on this ward."
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If you find yourself offering a colleague or a patient a great deal of information, then consider offering them something in writing. An email follow-up maybe?
Try to avoid harsh criticism of others, even if they’ve made a mistake. The key thing is often to explain your thinking, and get your colleague to correct their error and learn from it. You can use phrases such as:
- “We wouldn't normally prescribe this medicine in someone with renal failure because it causes sedation. If you look at the Trust policy you'll see that X is our first line choice because it's so much safer, particularly in an elderly patient like Mrs Papadakis..."
- “It would be helpful if you completed a critical incident report for this, to help others learn from it…”
Conclude your conversation with an invitation to help in the future.
- “Now, if you need anything else I’m on bleep 4466.”
- “You can phone our patient helpline if you think of any other questions when you get home.”
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