Communication & Professionalism

In addition to teaching the necessary foundational knowledge in communication and professional competence, there is a focus on attitude and execution skills training, integrating both communication and professional competence. The learning objectives for communication include interpersonal relationships and communication, team communication, cross-cultural communication, public speaking, doctor-patient communication, and the establishment of leadership and teamwork. Professional competence covers medical ethics and will be delivered through numerous discussions and experiential learning, allowing students to progressively apply the knowledge gained in the first and second-year medical humanities courses. This approach helps them embody the five roles of a good physician: (1) Medical Professional; (2) Communicator; (3) Collaborator/Leader in Healthcare Teams; (4) Educator/Scholar; and (5) Advocate for Patient Interests. Special topics such as being a physically and mentally healthy physician and end-of-life care are also covered.

The content for exploring communication and professional competence is tailored to the students' advancement in general medical abilities and is conducted in small groups. The training utilizes the interactive classrooms, simulated clinics, and audio-visual equipment (mentioned later) in the Clinical Skills Center for communication training. Professional competence training involves various discussion activities along with experiential learning, taking place in hospitals and community care settings with timely feedback provided by guiding instructors. This course requires a substantial number of instructors, and besides full-time faculty, adjunct or volunteer instructors will be invited to co-teach.

Content of the Communication and Professional Competence Course

Semester	1st Grade, 1st Semester	1st Grade, 2nd Semester	2nd Grade, 1st Semester	2nd Grade, 2nd Semester	3rd Grade, 1st Semester	3rd Grade, 2nd Semester	4th Grade, 1st Semester	4th Grade, 2nd Semester
People, Society and Medical	Personal, Family and Society	Gender Issues
	Personal, Family and Society	Intercultural Competence	Physicians’ Social Obligations and Responsibilities	Issues in Public Health	Introduction to Health Care System
		Diversity Ideology in Medical Care	Fairness and Equality： Advocacy Responsibility of Physicians	Issues in Aging Society	Introduction to Health Care System
Communication and Interpersonal/Doctor-Patient Relationship	Efective Communication	Difficult Communication：Speech Impairment	Difficult Communication：Announce Bad News
	Communication and Interpersonal Relationships	Difficult Communication： Conflict	Communication Practice	Shared Decision-Making (SDM) in Healthcare
	Speech/Presentation Skills	Difficult Communication：Cognitive Disparities	Team Communication	Building Trust in the Doctor-Patient Relationship	Shared Decision-Making (SDM) in Healthcare	Medical History Inquiry and Health Education Skills
The Happy Doctor	Role Model Inheritance (Including “On Doctoring” and Medical Practitioners)		Physicians and Social Participation	Physicians’ Career Planning
		Physicians and Their Family/Leisure Life	Physicians and Their Faith Life	Career Resilience and Difficulty Transformation
	Influential Life
Medical Ethics and Law		Medical Ethics： From Academic Theory to Application	Introduction to Medical Law	Informed Consent and Obligation to Inform	Medical Malpractice and Conflicts of Interest	Decision-Making Agent：Children/ Disability	Maternal and Child/Newborn Healthcare	End of Life
				Patient Privacy： Protections and Exceptions			Academic Ethics	Medical Futility and Withdrawal of Treatment
							Academic Ethics
The Mind-Body-Spirit of Illness						Illness Experience and Behavior	Counseling and Companionship Skills	Life-and-Death Studies
The Mind-Body-Spirit of Illness						Empathy for Patient Needs		End-of-Life Care