How the patient views, talks, feels or thinks about their symptoms or medical condition is important. Recently, we invited a young man with diabetes to speak to a group of preregistration pharmacy students. As the students asked questions, it was noticeable that the young man was not at all happy.

His face reddened and the flow of information ceased. The students were at a loss. What had happened? On investigation, the young man requested that the students cease to refer to him as a patient. He also indicated that he found it difficult to answer a list of questions.

Basically, the students were not creating rapport with their client. They talked in a communication mode that differed from his. They also failed to recognise changes in his body language, cues that indicated that he was uncomfortable.

On teaching the students to understand the young man’s communication model, they conversed in his language and he provided more in-depth answers about his medical condition and how he felt about his diabetes.

This had an immense impact on the flow of information. The students discovered that he needed to complete one task at a time, for example giving up smoking, then giving up alcohol.

How many times are patients simply given lists of things that they should do to manage their medical condition? They also discovered that he learnt by ‘walking through’ something.

Therefore a patient leaflet was not his preferred style of acquiring information. He indicated that he would like to know more about his medicines, but his pharmacist always appeared too busy. He revealed that he did not realise that he could ask his pharmacist about his medical condition.

Creating rapport allowed for a more relaxed setting where information was exchanged without fear. This may sound like a lot of effort, but understanding how to establish rapport with this young man helped the students obtain more pertinent information. Recognising changes in the other person’s body language cues will help you to change your communication style. The meaning of communication is the response that you get.

It really depends on how you view your practice or business. I recognise the challenges that pharmacy faces. As a pharmacist, I appreciate time pressures and government and public expectations. Does that mean that less time should be spent on communication? 

Recently, one pharmacist informed me that he didn’t have time to enhance rapport in his pharmacy. My answer was simple: patients and customers are amazingly mobile – they will walk!