Social and emotional learning skills in health communication: A research on doctors

Health communication is a concept that gets attention with increasing importance of communication nowadays. Among the health communication partners are health professionals and patients. The process in which the patient's relatives are also included is an environment in which communication-based problems are experienced. Indeed, doctors do not have to spend extra effort and the responsibility of the patients' relatives to understand and satisfy their needs. Doctors who are not aware of the emotional state of the patient and the patient relatives are usually in conflict and even discussion. In a similar situation where communication can not be initiated correctly, it is difficult to improve communication quality in the continueing prosesses. Doctors should use communication skills to involve the patient in the most appropriate and effective treatment process, to deal with problems that may occur at certain points, and not to compromise on their character and personality while performing all these. Doctors who are both physically and cognitively dealing with the current density need to look at communication strategies at times when they are stressed. In addition to their professional knowledge, they need to bring their social skills to the front. In this phd thesis, doctors need to feel happy and hopeful in their busy and exhausting working routine, to communicate effectively and correctly, to get quick solutions to possible problems and to manage the stress which is a part of life. While doing all of this, patients have some responsibilities too such as improving their health, arranging treatment, and sharing information to protect and develop their health. During this development, social and emotional learning has positive influence. The Social and Emotional Learning Skills Scale was administered to doctors of the Department of Internal Medicine of the Ege University Faculty of Medicine with the thought that the behavior and attitudes of the doctors would be changed in order to fulfill these duties and that these changes could be achieved through the active use of social and emotional learning skills.