Communicator
Definition
As Communicators, physicians form relationships with patients and their families* that facilitate the gathering and sharing of essential information for effective health care.†
Description
Physicians enable patient-centred therapeutic communication by exploring the patient’s symptoms, which may be suggestive of disease, and by actively listening to the patient’s experience of his or her illness. Physicians explore the patient’s perspective, including his or her fears, ideas about the illness, feelings about the impact of the illness, and expectations of health care and health care professionals. The physician integrates this knowledge with an understanding of the patient’s context, including socio-economic status, medical history, family history, stage of life, living situation, work or school setting, and other relevant psychological and social issues. Central to a patient-centred approach is shared decision-making: finding common ground with the patient in developing a plan to address his or her medical problems and health goals in a manner that reflects the patient’s needs, values, and preferences. This plan should be informed by evidence and guidelines.
Because illness affects not only patients but also their families, physicians must be able to communicate effectively with everyone involved in the patient’s care.
KEY CONCEPTS
- Accuracy: 2.1, 3.1, 4.2, 5.1
- Active listening: 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.1, 4.3
- Appropriate documentation: 2.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
- Attention to the psychosocial aspects of illness: 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1
- Breaking bad news: 1.5, 3.1
- Concordance of goals and expectations: 1.6, 2.2, 3.1, 4.3
- Disclosure of harmful patient safety incidents: 3.2
- Effective oral and written information for patient care across different media: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
- Efficiency: 2.3, 4.2, 5.2
- Eliciting and synthesizing information for patient care: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
- Empathy: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3
- Ethics in the physician–patient encounter: 3.2, 5.1
- Expert verbal and non-verbal communication: 1.1, 1.4
- Informed consent: 2.2
- Mutual understanding: 1.6, 3.1, 4.1
- Patient-centred approach to communication: 1.1, 1.6, 2.1, 3.1
- Privacy and confidentiality: 1.2, 5.1
- Rapport: 1.4
- Relational competence in interactions: 1.5
- Respect for diversity: 1.1, 1.6, 2.2, 4.1
- Shared decision-making: 1.6, 4.1, 4.3
- Therapeutic relationships with patients and their families: 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6
- Transition in care: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
- Trust in the physician–patient relationship: 1.1, 5.2, 5.3
Key competencies | Enabling competencies |
---|---|
Physicians are able to: | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Throughout the CanMEDS 2015 Framework and Milestones Guide, references to the patient’s family are intended to include all those who are personally significant to the patient and are concerned with his or her care, including, according to the patient’s circumstances, family members, partners, caregivers, legal guardian, and substitute decision-makers.
† Note that the Communicator Role describes the abilities related to a physician–patient encounter. Other communication skills are found elsewhere in the framework, including health care team communication (Collaborator) and academic presentations (Scholar).
Tools
Where are these tools from?
Many of the tools were originally developed for the CanMEDS Teaching and Assessment Tools Guide.
The title codes on the tools are maintained to allow quick cross-referencing between the CanMEDS Tools Guide and this online registry (e.g. T1, T2, A1)
The tools are part of the Royal College’s commitment to support the roll-out of CanMEDS 2015.

Tips on using these Tools
- Many of the Tools are designed to use as-is (i.e. no further work required)
- Some tools are also available in MSWord format. This allows you to easily manipulate the ‘bones’ of the tool and customize it for your own use
- When reproducing and modifying the tools, please maintain the footer that acknowledges the source
- Clarify the teaching and assessment goals of your specific context;
- Select the right tools to match the particular needs and goals of your specific context; and
- Combine Roles and tools in an effective and efficient manner
Teaching
-
T1. Lecture or Large Group Session: Foundations of the Communicator Role
Download MS Word | Download PDF -
T2. Lecture or Large Group Presentation: Teaching the Communicator Role
Download PDF | Download Power Point -
T3. Small Group Activity: Communication scripts for day-to-day communication
Download MS Word | Download PDF -
T5. Curriculum Planning Tool: Guidelines for developing communication skills curricula
Download MS Word | Download PDF -
T7. Coaching: Resident coaching on common written communications
Download MS Word | Download PDF
Assessment
-
A2. Coaching: Consultation Letter Rating Scale
Download MS Word | Download PDF -
A3. Written Questions and Answers: for the Communicator Role
Download MS Word | Download PDF
This work by Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.