AEI | Navigating Difficult Conversations in the Medical Setting
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The mission of this workshop series is to empower all medical professionals to excel in their roles through exemplary communication. We also seek to create a community of people who nurture and support one another's personal and professional growth as they improve their communication skills within the clinical setting.
Why is this series needed? Professionals encounter difficult communication scenarios on a daily basis. Many feel that they lack the skills and knowledge to handle the situation in a manner that allows the issues to be addressed while maintaining good relationships. If approached without appropriate skill and tact, some of these situations can turn confrontational. Most people respond to the need by ignoring the situation. Training them to be skillful communicators can avert unwanted friction in the workplace thus improving productivity and patient care.
Can people learn to handle difficult conversations? Yes! There are tools, models, and techniques which individuals can learn to use to address difficult conversations. We will create an effective, safe environment for brainstorming and practicing positive solutions to YOUR difficult communication situations.
Registration includes:
- Four workshops, two hours in length, which build upon the theory and skills taught in each
- Handouts of all materials
- Practical case applications with role plays
- A pre and post assessment in which participants evaluate themselves on their knowledge, skills and attitudes toward managing difficult conversations
- A coaching session with the workshop instructors from IUPUI Human Resources.
- Professionals from the medical field will serve as coaches for those who are interested in further support
The detailed descriptions for each of the workshops in the series are listed below:
Essential Communication, Listening and Non-Verbal Communication
What we say, when we say it, and how we say it almost always influences the effectiveness of a message. This session is designed to improve communication skills and will examine communication styles. In addition we’ll consider what some think is a lost skill - listening. We often do not listen with great intent. We’ll practice methods to improve our listening skills and design a system that will work for us. Research indicates that fully 93% of our communication comes across from our tone and body language, rather than our words alone. The nonverbal “channels” seem to be more powerful than what people say. We’ll also practice becoming more aware of our own non-verbal communication patterns and learning how to understand others’ non-verbal behaviors more effectively.
Achieving Effectiveness through Negotiation
Your daily work activities require you to negotiate more than you may realize, whether you are working with a challenging colleague, collaborating with others on a project, seeking the best care for a patient, or responding to customer complaints, negotiating is essential for job effectiveness. You can become an effective negotiator and achieve better outcomes for yourself and your organization if you are willing to diligently work with others to structure agreements that are focused on satisfying the needs and interests of all parties. This workshop will cover the basics of developing an effective, practical, and efficient approach to negotiating. It will provide hands-on practice in negotiating some common, everyday situations to build your confidence in negotiating with others to foster cooperation and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
Raising Difficult Issues
We are faced everyday with the need to raise difficult issues with others, whether they are patients, peers, supervisors, or other health care professionals. Such issues can have serious consequences if not raised appropriately or in a timely manner, impacting patient care, team effectiveness, interpersonal work relationships, or other dynamics of the work and learning environment. Yet, when the stakes are especially high and strong emotions and disagreements are likely, we often feel unable to convey what needs to be said in an effective manner. Fear and anxiety can kick in causing us either to avoid the matter altogether or to react negatively when challenged. This workshop will provide models for raising such difficult issues through the use of dialogue skills designed to help individuals create safe environments where they can better manage strong emotions and communicate difficult messages in ways that minimize the natural tendency of others to become defensive.
Managing Personality and Cultural Differences
There are models, tools and ways for us to better understand how our personality and cultural differences influence our behavior so we can make useful choices about how we think and act, and about how we choose to interact with others. In this workshop, we will evaluate our attitudes and behaviors to see how they can contribute to respectful interaction and better understanding in the workplace. We will seek to understand and appreciate cultural diversity, especially as it relates to our work as professionals; increase our sensitivity to diverse and complex relationships; and to enhance our ability to communicate with people from other cultures.
Workshop Presenters:
Dan Griffith, Manager, Training and Organization Development, Human Resources Administration, IUPUI Marilyn Kuhn, Senior Consultant, Training and Organization Development, Human Resources Administration, IUPUI
What are the details?
Day & Time: Wednesday Evenings, 5-7 p.m.
Start Date: February 2 and 16 and March 2 and 16, 2011
Where:
Methodist Hospital
Candlelight Room, A3050-A
1701 N. Senate Blvd, Indianapolis, IN
46202Cost: $80 per participantby Jan 15 ($100 after Jan. 15) for IU/Clarian staff)
For more information contact pkhurana@iupui.edu or 962-2275
