ABSTRACT

The incidents of violence against doctors over the last two to three decades are showing an upward trend. This is a testimony for the changing perception among the general public about medical profession. The doctor patient relationship which was previously based on mutual trust and respect is slowly being replaced with a perception where general public view health care profession, specially by private sector as any other business. This is very true with oral health care professionals as dental practice is mainly offered by private practitioners both globally and in India. The violence against doctors can range from verbal abuse to physical assault causing grievous injuries. This can have serious adverse consequences on health care professionals which can range from depression to suicidal tendencies. The training of current generation of health care professionals should emphasise on the importance of empathy and communication skills. This is expected to reduce incidents of violence against doctors while enhancing mutual trust and respect between doctor and patient. The national medical commission has emphasised the importance of soft skills in the revised competency-based curriculum for medical students. The dental council of India is expected to emphasise training on soft skills besides training in clinical skills in the revised competency based dental curriculum in India. There is also a need for some basic training on causes for violence against doctors, the tips for handling such incidents in their practice areas. This could be introduced as a value addition to the regular curriculum for all health care professional students. Keywords: Violence against doctors, empathy, communication skills, oral health care professionals
Publication date: 01/01/2024

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2024/January/MS_IJBPAS_2024_7690.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2024/13.1.7690