Podcast: Resolving Critical Communication Issues in the ER

For emergency department physicians, residents, and staff, delays in a patient’s care can lead to frustration; from that frustration, tempers can flare and miscommunications may occur to the detriment of the patients in the emergency room (ER).

During the 2018 assembly of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), University of Illinois in Chicago Associate Professor of Internal & Emergency Medicine Carissa Tyo, M.D., discussed the importance of working out any and all communication issues in order to improve the quality of patient care.

“When providers don’t know what is failing in the process, we feel like the whole process is failing,” Tyo says. “But it’s better to ask why there are delays before accusations of fault are laid out even though sometimes that’s hard for us.”

Deliberately seeking out the truth and context surrounding any miscommunication or frustration in the ER may not feel like second nature at first, but Tyo says that taking a moment to breathe and measure your response is a decisive step.

“You have to work together to get through it,” Tyo notes. “Deliberately seeking understanding when complications arise is hard, but everything has a context.”

To listen to the full episode and hear what tips Tyo shares for resolving emergency department communication issues, click on the link below.

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