Photo: Getty Images
By Contributor
10th May 2021
Doctors whose first language is not English encounter particular problems in communication.
Prof Peter Gillen and
Dr Gozie Offiah describe how these medics can improve their empathy skills
I spoke recently at a webinar on communication skills in medicine. The webinar was hosted by the Irish-Pakistani Professional Association (IPPA), which was founded by Pakistani doctors in Ireland, one of whose aims is to enable the integration of Pakistani doctors into the Irish healthcare system by providing a range of educational supports.
The topic of communication skills in medicine was a direct result of a survey I had commissioned on doctors working in Ireland whose primary language is not English. At the outset of the webinar one of the hosts shared an amusing anecdote recounting his first encounter with an Irish patient. He recalled meeting an elderly gentleman from Connemara on his first working day here in Ireland. Enquiring how he could help the gentleman, the patient told him he was ‘having trouble with the waterworks’.