Improving Communication Skills A Roadmap for Humanistic Health Care

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators improve individual communication skills. Foundational skills improve with deliberate practice and feedback. Communication skills can improve on the individual, group, or systems level. Clinician communication skills excel through intentional reflection, an institutional focus on relationship-centered care, and ongoing skill development and support. Ultimately, the goal is not merely to make skills better (although naturally, that is desirable): it is also for development and enhancement of community, ongoing peer reinforcement of effective communication skills, and support of health care staff in the context of arduous work with high burnout risk. Through enhancing communication skills and thereby these individual and community connections, we can make the work of health care more sustainable, higher quality, and increasingly humanistic.

Automated summary

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators can improve individual communication skills. Foundational skills improve through deliberate reflection and ongoing skill development, leading to enhancement of healthcare sustainability, quality, and humanistic care.