Volume 6 Issue 7 July, 2016
Doctors and Counseling…
On behalf of new editorial team, it is an opportunity to thank all the well-wishers of MINDS Newsletter, we hope your support and encouragement will continue as before.
Warm greetings to you all on the occasion of Doctors’ day celebrated in memory of Dr. B. C. Roy. Dr.
Roy laid great emphasis on communication skills. Many agree that a doctor should possess good communication
skills and not just clinical skills and knowledge. Before talking, listening is in fact a more difficult skill which is now
becoming only a mere necessity while history taking. Probably one of the important contributing reasons for
increasing law suits and attacks on doctors is poor and untimely communication with the family and newer
generation doctors lay relatively less focus in such communication. Counseling is a term that can be referred here
which is simply defined as advice and support that is given to people to help them deal with problems, make
important decisions etc. But the problem is, this term has become a synonym for psychiatric treatment not just in
common parlance but also with non-psychiatric professionals. This is in fact means making patients and family
‘listened’ so that we ensure they understand what we actually do. It is equally important that we listen attentively
and reflect upon the issue in comprehensive manner. So let this Doctor’s Day remind us about crucial listening skills
in doctor-patient communication.
BMCH&RC, Chitradurga (Karnataka)
