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Introduction
The CanMEDs Communicator Role is felt by some to be the most important after Medical Expert. It is difficult to fulfill any of the CanMEDs Roles without an ability to communicate effectively. In this day and age, where access to medical information is available to all of your patients, one can argue that the Communicator Role supercedes the Role of the Medical Expert.
In order to practice effectively physicians are required to be expert communicators with:
patients and their loved ones
other members of the health care team
other physicians
The Collaborator module in this series focuses on communication and team work with other physicians and our interprofessional colleagues. In this module we will focus on how we, as physicians, can be better communicators with, and for, our patients.
Interpreting and explaining medical information has become more important than the ability to attain it. In Family Medicine, this has become the "norm". Patients will arrive at the office with the latest information about their disease and the physician must help them interpret and understand the information. The ability for a physician to translate medical information for patients and then arrive at a shared plan has become a very important skill.