Verbal De-escalation. Rules for Negotiating with an Uncooperative Patient

Course summary:

The objective of this module is to develop students’ competences in the calculated use of verbal and non-verbal communication techniques and to emphasise students’ practical preparation to conduct negotiations with patients, learning about their needs, expectations and capacities. An individual approach to every patient will be to prove that they are important to the medical personnel and in turn increase patients’ trust towards the medical establishment and their workers. Another objective will be to get the students’ acquainted with effective negotiation methods and ways of resolving conflicts with patients as well as understanding the psychological determinants of negotiations. The students will use their new knowledge on negotiation techniques and methods in simulated practical scenarios staged during workshops. Thanks to their new skills, the students will be able to consciously apply adequate behavioural tactics to any given situation, shrewdly communicate and negotiate with patients. Effective education of medical students in the arts of communication and negotiation will improve the quality of healthcare. 

By the end of the course, the applicant will:

• Have a deep knowledge of negotiation techniques and social communication methods.
• Have knowledge on the elaboration of negotiation strategies appropriate  to the external and internal conditions.
• Be skilled at negotiating with patients using selected methods and conduct an evaluation of these methods.
• Be skilled at formulating strategies and selecting appropriate negotiation tools and techniques for different scenarios.
• Be competent to participate as part of a negotiation team performing different roles.

Contents of the course:

LECTURES

1. Concept and meaning of negotiations with patients. The role of self-presentation.
   
2. Showing interest – listening about patients’ needs, expectations and capabilities.
   
3. Communication process (effective communication on the verbal level).
   
4. Communication process (effective communication on the non-verbal level).
   
5. Resisting manipulation
   
6. Engaging the patient in the process of selecting the medical procedure and therapy recommendations
   
7. Determining the style, planning and evaluating negotiations
   

WORKSHOPS

1. Techniques, strategies and tactics of negotiations.
   
2. Basic rules of negotiations.
   
3. Process and evaluation of negotiations.
   
4. Negotiation dilemmas.
   
5. Negotiation game methodologies.
   
6. Using games in the teaching process of future negotiators.
   
7. Intercultural negotiations.
   

Teaching techniques used:

video, text, pictures, case studies