DISPENSING 1 - Module 1
DISPENSING 1 - Module 1
DISPENSING 1 - Module 1
• .
3. CLARITY
• Clarity is about how processable your communication is.
When accuracy is the what, clarity is the how.
10. Practice.
PRINCIPLES OF
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
• Inter-cultural communication principles guide the
process of exchanging meaningful unambiguous
information across cultural boundaries, in a way
that preserves mutual respect and minimizes
antagonism.
1. Respect, openness, curiosity
• be willing to take a risk and to move beyond
one’s comfort zone. Be willing to be wrong, or at
least to have one’s perspective altered or
widened
2. You are not the centre of
everyone’s universe.
• realise that one’s own culture is specific, and
study how it has affected one’s own world view –
also how odd or foreign it may seem to others,
and how it may impact upon them
3. Culture, power, status
• Understand that cultures are often in a
relationship of status, power and domination /
subordination – that those who feel dominated
often feel ignored and marginalised, and those
who dominate often do not recognise their
privilege or power. When these power or status
relationships change, there is often upheaval,
fear, anger, and anxiety.
4. Learn from the other.
• With this understanding, be willing to learn
as much as possible about others’ culture,
as far as possible without judgment, but
with respectful curiosity. This will often
throw a new light on one’s own culture.
5. Develop core skills.
• Intercultural communication requires self-
mastery, as we develop our willingness
and ability to observe, listen, evaluate,
analyse, interpret, and relate with less
judgment and more openness.
6. Reap the inner dividends.
• This process will enrich you personally and
professionally, as you gain in flexibility,
adaptability, empathy, and the ability to really
‘get’ what others experience and perceive,
whether or not you ‘agree’ with them.
7. Be aware of differences in
meaning in both verbal and
nonverbal communication.
8. Be aware of cultural rules
governing behaviors, customs,
and communication.
PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING
DIFFERENT TYPES OF PAT IENTS
1. GERIATRIC PATIENTS
1. Get their attention.
2. Reduce background noise.
3. Speak clearly.
4. Speak loudly. Speak a little more loudly than normal, but
don’t shout.
5. Repeat yourself.
6. Have good lighting.
2. PEDIATRIC PATIENTS
1. Communicate on their level.
2. Engage the parents.
3. Build trust.
3. PERSONS WITH DISABILITY
1. If you offer assistance, wait until the offer is accepted.
2. Speak directly to the disabled person, not through a third
party.
3. Always offer to shake hands.
4. Identify yourself and others to a visually impaired person.
5. Treat adults like adults. Don't use a person's first name until
someone asks you to. Don't pat. Don't patronize.
6. Don't shout.
7. Don't touch, lean on, or move a wheelchair without
permission. Treat the chair as part of the person occupying it.
8. When conversing with a person with a speech impediment,
listen carefully and never pretend to understand.
4. MENTALLY ILL PATIENTS
1. Introduce yourself calmly and clearly.
2. Explain why you are there.
3. Be polite and non-threatening but also be honest and direct.
4. Listen to what they are saying in a non-judgmental way.
5. Avoid confrontation.
6. Ask them what they see as the main problem.
7. Do not attempt physical contact, except to prevent serious
assault or suicide attempts.
8. Encourage them to talk to a mental healthcare professional.
9. Follow up difficult experiences with counselling for yourself.
5. SUICIDAL PATIENTS
1. The first step is to find out whether the person is in danger of acting on suicidal
feelings. Be sensitive, but ask direct questions, such as:
• a.How are you coping with what's been happening in your life?
• b. Do you ever feel like just giving up?
• c. Are you thinking about dying?
2. Look for warning signs.
3. Don't leave the person alone.
4. Call 911 or your local emergency number right away. Or, if you think you can do
so safely, take the person to the nearest hospital emergency room yourself.
5. Try to find out if he or she is under the influence of alcohol or drugs or may have
taken an overdose.
6. Tell a family member or friend right away what's going on.
7. Get help from a trained professional as quickly as possible.
6. TERMINALLY ILL PATIENTS
1. Ask permission. Patients can tell me whether they're
ready to receive certain information.
2. Establish a comfortable setting. No one can talk when
they are in pain or uncomfortable.
3. Make sure the right players are in the room. Some
patients can't make a decision without their partner, a
parent, or a child present.
4. If patients don't want information, find out who they want
us to communicate with. Establish a surrogate decision-
maker.