Social and emotional skills for health professionals

Pages: 410-413
Rekha Sapra (Department of Human Development and Family Empowerment, Bharati College, University of Delhi, Delhi)

The social erosion in the society has had its impact on the medical profession as well. The increased intolerance of the patients coupled with aggressive behaviour and abuse result in an environment which is not very conducive to promote positive patient doctor relationship and relationships with other para medics. In a health setup, which by its very nature is very stressful, needs a conducive environment to facilitate better outcomes. It seems a strange proposition to talk about social and emotional skills for professionals, who are by all means the cream la cream of the society. The world over, medical education is undergoing a tremendous change wherein the need for the skills in the domain of social and emotional competence is being recognized. Empathy deficit on part of both the doctors and patients has been identified as one of the core issue for emerging raised levels of aggressive behaviour. In the present paper I shall explore those competencies which have been identified as crucial to enhance better stress management, positive work environment and reduce professional ‘Burn out’. The medical schools have incorporated Social erosionIn spite of professional skills and competence of the doctors, nurses and other medical personnel, the research studies across the globe have emphatically stated that the ability to deal with patients, influence their behaviour will to a very large extent depend on the personality, attitude and other behaviour traits of the dealing medical personnel irrespective of professional degrees, academic knowledge. Forbes in its review has found the medical personnel to a large extent ill-equipped to deal and cater to the human side.