Mind Your Manners: An Investigation on Patient Perception of Bedside Manner and its Effect on their Visit
Date
2023-05
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Publisher
MAPC, The University of Tampa
Abstract
Bedside manner is considered by both patients and medical professionals as a standard amongst medical practices. The expectations of
bedside manner often differ between the giver and the receiver, which creates a gap in communication. Though the communication gap is well
recognized, the expectations of the patients with regard to bedside manner compared to the behaviors of physicians is less researched. By
further understanding the patient-definition of good bedside manner, the path to greater patient experience and more well-rounded physicians
can be further explored. This directed the research to better understand 1) how bedside manner affects patient perception of their quality of
treatment; 20 how bedside manner affects the patient’s perception of professionalism of the hospital; and 3) if bedside manner significantly
affects a patient’s overall perception of their quality of care. The research was conducted qualitatively through semi-structured interviews with
respondents who were previous patients in overnight hospital stays. The quality of bedside manner did not have a significant effect on the
patient’s perception of treatment or professionalism of the hospital. It did show increased patient trust in the physicians, which lead to higher
comfortability throughout the entire experience.
Description
Capstone project for completion of the Masters of Arts in Professional Communication (MAPC)
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Article
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Keywords
Communication, Bedside manner, Medicine, Empathy