Health care providers are frequently faced with the challenge of caring for patients who have limited English proficiency. These patients experience challenges accessing health care and are at higher risk of receiving suboptimal health care than native English speakers. Health care interpreters are crucial partners to help break down communication barriers and prevent these patients from facing health care disparities. Many providers lack the skill set and knowledge that are vital to successful collaboration with an interpreter. The objective of this article is to address a number of questions surrounding the use of health care interpreters and to provide concrete suggestions that will enable providers to best serve their patients.

Clinical AnatomyVolume 30, Issue 5 p. 562-563 Letter to the Editor Core curriculum: Globalization or glocalization…or both? Anthony C. Berman, Corresponding Author Anthony C. Berman berman.anthony@mayo.edu brmns@msn.com orcid.org/0000-0002-4385-1097 Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, School of Education, Mayo Clinic, Hamline University, Rochester, Minnesota, Saint Paul, MinnesotaCorrespondence to: Dr. Anthony C. Berman, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. E-mail: berman.anthony@mayo.edu or brmns@msn.comSearch for more papers by this author Anthony C. Berman, Corresponding Author Anthony C. Berman berman.anthony@mayo.edu brmns@msn.com orcid.org/0000-0002-4385-1097 Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, School of Education, Mayo Clinic, Hamline University, Rochester, Minnesota, Saint Paul, MinnesotaCorrespondence to: Dr. Anthony C. Berman, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. E-mail: berman.anthony@mayo.edu or brmns@msn.comSearch for more papers by this author First published: 13 February 2017 https://doi.org/10.1002/ca.22837Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume30, Issue5July 2017Pages 562-563 RelatedInformation

The education of a physician includes much more than acquiring competence in medical knowledge and technical expertise. Physicians also need to have excellent communication skills in order to communicate with patients. Communication skills form the foundation for a more positive patient-provider relationship, leading to greater patient satisfaction and better patient compliance. In the patient’s eyes, the ability to communicate well forms a major component of a provider’s clinical competence. The ability to communicate effectively with patients can contribute significantly to improved patient outcomes. Because of their importance in the practice of medicine, teaching interviewing and communication skills are a part of the curriculum for medical schools. At the Mayo Medical School, a tool was developed to assist in the assessment of medical students when communicating with patients as they elicit a medical history. This rubric has been very useful for both teaching and assessment, and it may be applicable to other healthcare settings as well. Patients commonly complain that physicians do not listen to them. “Being a good doctor requires not only knowledge and technical skills, but also communication” [1]. Communication skills are not just restricted to talking, but also to listening and nonverbal communication [2]. Assessment of the provider’s ability to apply communication skills continues to be a concern of medical educators. Developing a positive relationship has historically contributed a great deal to a physician’s effectiveness and satisfaction within the profession [3]. Such relationships are crucial for successful medical treatment [4]. Good communication skills are a key to establishing these desired relationships, and the inability to display good communication skills has been shown to negatively affect many areas in patient care [5]. On the other hand, good communication skills have been shown to improve patient treatment compliance, thus leading to improved patient outcomes [6]. The benefits of good communication skills have been documented in the literature and recognized by physicians as early as Osler [7], who encouraged physicians to “care more particularly for the individual patient than for the special features of the disease.” Ludmerer [8] noted, “For over a century, the goal of medical education has been to produce thinking physicians, scientifically competent, who are sensitive to the emotional as well as the medical condition of the patient.” Unfortunately, there is evidence that suggests good communication skills are not universally practiced by physicians [5].

Educators have tried for many years to define teaching and effective teachers. More specifically, medical educators have tried to define what characteristics are common to successful teachers in the healthcare arena. The goal of teacher educators has long been to determine what makes an effective teacher so that they could do a better job of preparing future teachers to have a positive impact on the learning of their students. Medical educators have explored what makes some of their colleagues more able than others to facilitate the development of healthcare professionals who can successfully and safely meet the needs of future patients. Although there has historically been disagreement regarding the characteristics that need be developed in order for teachers to be effective, educational theorists have consistently agreed that becoming an effective teacher is a complex task. Such discussions have been central to deciding what education at any level is really all about. By exploring the literature and reflecting upon the personal experiences encountered in his lengthy career as a teacher, and as a teacher of teachers, the author reaches the conclusions that teaching is both art and science, that “good teaching is good teaching” regardless of the learning environment or the subject to be explored, and that the characteristics making up an effective medical educator are really not much different than those making up effective educators in any other area. Anat Sci Educ 8: 386–394. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

This viewpoint commentary, written from the perspective of a teacher who has helped to educate students in a wide variety of educational environments, is a reaction to the article published in Anatomical Sciences Education on developing of core syllabuses for the anatomical sciences. After reflecting on the definitions of both curriculum and syllabus and their importance as roadmaps for effective instruction, the value of core knowledge and core syllabuses in anatomical sciences was explored. Encouragement for the pursuit of the project proposed in the original article was provided; however, the reminder to not allow any curriculum or syllabus to prevent instructional flexibility was emphasized. Several constructive questions (regarding democracy in curriculum development, the proposed rating scale, and the desirability of reaching local or national consensus before seeking global agreement) were advanced for consideration. Anat Sci Educ 7 326–328. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.