The distinctive aspect in the socio-cultural sub competence of communication in medical institutions
COMUNICACIÓN

 

The distinctive aspect in the socio-cultural sub competence of communication in medical institutions

 

Lo distintivo en la subcompetencia sociocultural de la comunicación en instituciones médicas

 

 

Nélida Liduvina Sarasa Muñoz1, Oscar Cañizares Luna2, Blasa Melba Menéndez Pérez3

1 MD. Specialist in Human Anatomy. MSc. in Medical Education. She grants a doctorate in Medical Sciences. Full professor and Consultant. Villa Clara University of Medical Sciences. Cuba. E-mail: nelidasm@ucm.vcl.sld.cu
2 MD.Specialist in Human Anatomy. MSc. in Medical Education and in Higher Education. He grants a doctorate in Medical Sciences. Full professor. Villa Clara University of Medical Sciences. Cuba. E-mail: oscarcl@ucm.vcl.sld.cu
3 Bachelor in Education. Specialist in Spanish and literature. MA. In Communicative Teaching of the Spanish Language and Literature. Assistant professor. Villa Clara University of Medical Sciences. Cuba. E mail: melbamp@ucm.vcl.sld.cu

 

 

 


ABSTRACT

Communication has allowed man to be related with its fellow man, although through the course of time it has suffered necessary transformations until becoming a distinctive feature of the human specie. The current article tries to reflect upon the distinctive aspect of the socio-cultural sub competence of communication in medical institutions of the National Health System of Cuba it demands to be efficient, complete, regulating, opportune, innocuous, constant, reliable, absent of duplicity, without subjectivism and updated; it is indispensable for health professionals to be able to use with effectiveness methods and procedures of socio-psychological interaction that guarantee a good communication for the sake of health promotion, disease prevention and the proper therapy, where it should not be absent the abilities for listening and the empathy as essential elements in the achievement of the excellence in the health services.

MeSH: Communication, health facilities, education, medical.


RESUMEN

La comunicación ha permitido al hombre relacionarse con sus congéneres, aunque a través de las diferentes épocas ha sufrido transformaciones necesarias hasta convertirse en lo particular de la especie humana. El presente artículo pretende reflexionar sobre lo distintivo de la subcompetencia sociocultural de la comunicación en instituciones médicas ya que el Sistema Nacional de Salud cubano exige que sea eficiente, completa, reguladora, oportuna, inocua, constante, confiable, ausente de duplicidad, enajenada de subjetivismo y actualizada; resulta imprescindible que el profesional de la salud sea capaz de utilizar con efectividad métodos y procedimientos de interacciones socio-psicológicas, que garanticen una óptima comunicación en aras de la promoción de la salud, la prevención de enfermedades y la terapéutica oportuna, donde no deben faltar las habilidades de escucha y la empatía como elementos esenciales en el logro de la excelencia en los servicios.

DeCS: Comunicación, iinstituciones de salud, educación médica.


 

 

Communication is an essential part of the human relationships and it is professionally used in complex situations that demand an efficient development. For the teaching-learning process of higher education it is a high priority to develop the communicative function, as a form to standardize language and to make it comprehensible for the interlocutor.

In Cuba, in correspondence with this conception, the access to higher education has as prerequisite the demonstration of the mother tongue command by means of an achievement exam. When the medical sciences students enter the university their spelling and writing abilities are diagnosed as essential aspects of their communicative competence.

Specifically, for the Medicine students the communicative function constitutes a necessity in the application of the scientific method in the clinical and epidemiologic forms of the method, in the searching of solution for health problems of individuals, the family, society and environmental problems, health promotion and disease prevention1. For them, It is indispensable to show the validity of what they express through the "intelligibility" of the discourse to be understood by others, the "truth" of the contents they approach, the observation of the norms that are accepted by all, and the fact that their speech reflect authentic convictions and feelings2-4.

The students who enter to higher medical studies at present have received diverse influences, including those attained through the information the communication technologies, as a part of the new society model sustained by computerization and the accelerated development of knowledge, where it effects are reflected in the optimization of the educational process.

This reality imposes new demands to the pedagogic communication of the professors who should continue improving their language command to match the challenges of the current time, without abandoning the rules of behavior of the medical profession, and on this base, to be able to establish an atmosphere which contribute to the development of the communicative function of the future professionals; which is attained as a consequence of showing a coherent image within each context, for the sake of fomenting its credibility.

The communicative competence is not limited to the capacity to speak a language with adjustment to grammatical rules, besides it is to know how to use it in correspondence with the peculiar characteristics of the different contexts and purposes. This conception comprises four sub-competences: the grammatical one, referred to the ability to use and to interpret the linguistic forms correctly; the discursive one, as the capacity to build and to interpret texts and to produce them in a coherent and fluent way; the strategic one, related with the capacity to apply strategies to compensate deficiencies in the mastering of the linguistic code and the socio-cultural one referred to the knowledge of the different meanings in each communication situation to be able to adapt them to each context, it also includes all the aspects of culture: its social structure, values, beliefs and behavior patterns among others.

In recent years it has been observed inadequate behaviors in beginner students in the educational environment related with the socio-cultural component; even when these students can have good spelling, writing and know how to let them be grammatically understood, they are presenting problems in this sub-competence of communication, specifically for difficulties to adapt to aspects of the institutional, professional and social culture that brings about problems in their behavior. Will the inappropriate expression of the socio-cultural communication be compatible with the appropriate assimilation of the precepts of the medical ethics, altruism, solidarity and dedication that this profession requires and the consequent practice of the scientific method in the different expressions in the medical practice?

The student of Medicine should develop the communicative function since the very beginning of the career, it is necessary to achieve an appropriate communication with the social environment as apart of it, as well as with the professors. Keeping in mind that the medical practice is inserted in the complex system of the human relationships, without taking into account this consideration it isn´t possible to understand the essence of this professional activity as well as the mastery of the method that distinguishes it, because the doctor is related with human beings to reestablish, to maintain or to increase his life quality, his physical, biological, psychological and social well-being, though is not enough to act with a high scientific-technical professionalism without keeping in mind its human being's essence; that is to say, its internal subjective world.

In medicine, the terms competence and performance are closely associated to the deepening inside of the communication process, since it represents the most complex manifestation in the relationship among human beings, and the medical practice is not more than a specific type of interpersonal relationship where it is indispensable that the health professional be able to use with effectiveness methods and procedures of socio-psychological interactions that guarantee a good communication for the sake of health promotion, disease prevention and the proper therapy, where the listening abilities and empathy as essential elements in the achievement of the excellence in the services shouldn´t be absent.

Summing up, the adoption of a communicative style that propitiates the dialogue, the group effort, the cooperation and the full cultural development for all the members of the group, conjugating the individual interests with the general educational objectives, leads to the achievement of a bigger efficiency in the teaching-learning process, and therefore, to the improvement of the quality of the graduates.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

1. Olivero R, Barraez C. Importancia de la semiología médica en la adquisición de las competencias de un médico. Salus Online [Internet]. 2011 [citado 1 Oct 2013];15(3):[aprox. 12 p.]. Disponible en: http://www.scielo.org.ve/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1316-71382011000300009

2. Bermúdez L, González L. La competencia comunicativa: elemento clave en las organizaciones. Quórum académico [Internet]. 2011 [citado 3 Oct 2013];8(15):[aprox. 12 p.]. Disponible en: http://dialnet.unirioja.es/ejemplar/310382

3. Maqueo AM. Lengua, aprendizaje y enseñanza. El enfoque comunicativo: de la teoría a la práctica. México: Editorial Limusa; 2005.

4. Quintana F, Sarasa NL, Cañizares O, Huguet Y. Assessment of a complementary curricular strategy for training South African Physicians in a Cuban Medical University. MEDICC Rev [Internet]. 2012 [citado 8 Ago 2013];14(3):[aprox. 6 p.]. Disponible en: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22869245

 

 

Submitted: October, 9 2015.
Accepted: September, 7 2015.

 

 

Nélida Liduvina Sarasa Muñoz. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Villa Clara. Cuba. Correo electrónico: nelidasm@ucm.vcl.sld.cu

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