Course Outcomes

This customer service basics course for healthcare professionals will:

  • Provide participants with a clear explanation of the importance of improving the patient experience as patients move through a continuum of care.
  • Review professional communication skills during face-to-face interaction.
  • Introduce best practices for communicating with care on the phone and by email.
  • Share tools for active listening to best understand underlying concerns and fears.
  • Highlight best practices and strategies for dealing with difficult people and challenging situations.

Course Overview

While customer service skills are to some extent universal, people working in healthcare environments face a set of circumstances not always found in other industries.

A Matter of Patients: Communication Skills for Better Customer Interaction in Healthcare offers tools and tips specific to delivering a positive patient experience. This online, instructor-led program consists of two two-hour training segments.

These modules address such topics as service standards, professional face-to-face and telephone interactions, what to say and what not to say, empathetic communication, de-escalation skills, and stress management.

This program is ideally suited for healthcare organizations that wish to provide their seasoned teams with a refresher and for those who are taking the first steps toward building a patient-centric culture.

Segment One Objectives

At this segment’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Recognize what patient satisfaction and great service look like in healthcare.
  • Identify who the different customers are in a healthcare setting and what they expect.
  • Interact professionally with patients and families face to face.
  • Review strategies for sending clear, concise messages when speaking and writing.
  • Use best practices to present a professional image on the telephone.

Segment One Modules

  • A Matter of Service: Understanding the Patient Experience
  • Great Expectations: Exploring What Internal and External Customers Want
  • Clarity Counts: Removing Ambiguity
  • A Great Send-Off: Formulating Messages
  • Long-Distance: Following Best Practices for Communicating on the Telephone

 Segment Two Objectives

At this segment’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

  • Practice active listening and responding with empathy.
  • Handle difficult patients, family members, and co-workers.
  • Create positive outcomes when faced with challenging situations.
  • Manage stress and burnout. 

Segment Two Modules

  • Affective, Cognitive, and Somatic Empathy: Understanding Others
  • What’s Said and What’s Not Said: Receiving Messages
  • Navigating Thorns: De-escalating Tense Situations
  • Stress Management: Preventing Burnout

By the conclusion of this online program for healthcare providers, participants should be able to apply the skills learned immediately.