Osteopathy practitioners work as facilitators to health, communicating with their patients in order to assess their musculoskeletal condition and provide effective non-invasive therapy. Throughout the job, osteopathy practitioners work on fostering meaningful relationships with their patients. This process can help you build trust with your patient and ensure that their treatment is a pleasant experience.
Developing strong communication skills is essential in the clinical environment, influencing the therapeutic process as well as interpersonal relationships with patients. By taking a proactive approach to improve these skills, you can elevate your practice and create a more open and welcoming space for your patients—helping them get the care and support they need to feel healthier.
Here are some methods you can integrate into your clinical practice to more effectively communicate with your patients after your osteopathy training.
1. Heightening Your Sense of Awareness to Better Focus on Your Patient’s Needs
Having a heightened sense of awareness is a big aspect of a good osteopathy practice, allowing practitioners to better cater to their patients’ needs. Here, your attentiveness and focus on your client can even demonstrate your eagerness to provide them with the best treatment possible, tailoring your efforts to better suit their individual needs.
You can practice being attentive as you conduct interviews and intake procedures, monitoring your client and paying close attention to their responses. Paraphrasing what they say throughout a consultation and asking whether or not you’ve understood them correctly can help you show that you care about their health and are willing to take active measures to ensure they get the right treatment.
By going to osteopathy school, you can hone in on observing and evaluating patients to further develop this skill. With this training, you can even learn to apply your sense of awareness to other facets of your clinical practice in order to cultivate a positive environment for your patients.
2. Embracing Empathy and Ethics for Positive Interpersonal Relationships
Providing an inviting, safe and empathic environment for treatment is important for patients—and it hinges on establishing good communication. This includes actively trying to understand your patients and viewing things from their perspective. Doing so can help put your patients at ease and encourage them to open up to you.
In addition to empathy, you’ll want to focus on your tone, how you convey information and your body language as well as that of your patient’s. This will help you maintain clear professional-patient boundaries, ensuring that the ethical code remains intact and that patients are involved and in agreement with each aspect of their treatment. As a result, they will likely feel more confident and comfortable under your care, developing trust that leads to a longer-term connection with you.
3. Gaining Hands-On Experience through Clinical Practice at Our Osteopathy School
Having real-world experience can play a key role in your success in the field, giving you the confidence you need to work directly with your patients. To promote your osteopathy career advancement, CAO enables you to work with real-life patients at our practice clinic. This way, you can develop strong communication and clinical skills under the guidance of professional osteopathic manual practitioners.
After honing your skills during your under-year clinical practicum, you’ll have the chance to take the lead on real patient treatments and work on fostering relationships at our upper-year clinic. You’ll also get the opportunity to work with patients in the community, giving back while learning in a supportive environment designed to promote your professional growth.
Are you interested in becoming an osteopathy professional?
Contact the Canadian Academy of Osteopathy to learn more!