Coda ClinicalHealthcare CommunicationMedical EducationTraumaThe importance of communication in pain management

The importance of communication in pain management by Claire Ashton-James

In this podcast, Claire discusses the role of clinician communication and its impact on acute pain management.

Claire explains how pain management outcomes can be optimised by enhancing patient expectations of benefit via patient-provider communication.

To illustrate this, Claire draws on studies to demonstrate two important things. Firstly, what we say to patients matters. Secondly, how we say it also matters.

Pain is a complex phenomenon and managing expectations of pain and people’s experience of empathy is crucial.

As healthcare professionals, we see multiple patients and are often run off our feet, but, as the studies clearly demonstrate… communication matters and it matters a lot in pain management.

This presentation shares research demonstrating the impact of clinician communication.

Specifically, this includes how clinicians’ talk about pain and pain management. Claire discusses the importance of patients’ experience of pain, the effectiveness of pain management and patients’ treatment outcomes.

From CodaZero Live, tune in to a fascinating discussion on the importance of communication.

If you liked this talk, there is plenty more where that came from! Claire is a passionate advocate for interpersonal communication and its ability to influence acute pain in medicine. We have a stack of healthcare communication podcasts available on our website. For more like this, head to our podcast page.

Finally, don’t forget to follow us on socials or to share this podcast with a friend or colleague who may also be interested.

The importance of communication in pain management by Claire Ashton-James #CodaPodcast

Claire Ashton-James

Dr Ashton-James firmly believes that most of our problems in medicine are interpersonal communication problems. Claire lives and breathes communication in her research and in her practice as a clinician coach specialising in partnering with clinicians to enhance their communication effectiveness and wellbeing. Claire is an Associate Professor in Pain Management at the University of Sydney and is the Founding Chair of the Social Aspects of Pain Special Interest Group of the International Association for the Study of Pain.

@drashtonjames