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10: Making a Case: Communicating Clinical Assessments and Improving Teamwork

DOI:

10.1891/9780826105745.0010

Abstract

This chapter describes the work of creating a communicative context for everyday clinical problem solving and teamwork and point out areas of clinical judgment that are inherently ambiguous and therefore difficult to communicate to others. Learning to effectively communicate clinical interpretations to others requires thinking-in-action and the ability to name subtle changes that point to transitions in the patient’s condition. Changing patient care management practices that alter patient responses and trajectories necessarily create the need for developing new clinical knowledge and judgment skills in new contexts. Critical care is a locus of the development of experimental interventions, such as minimally invasive surgeries, fast-tracking, new immunosuppression therapies in transplant recipients, and thrombolytic therapy after cerebral vascular accidents. Members of the health care team are expected to maintain professional relationships by demonstrating communication and interpersonal skills that show respect for patients, families and health care team members.