Physical Therapist Listening Skills

A physical therapist helps injured or ill people to improve their movement and their pain. This profession is often an important part of rehabilitation, treatment, and prevention of patients with chronic conditions, illnesses, or injuries. A physical therapist relies heavily on strong communication skills such as, the ability to recognize verbal and non-verbal cues from patients, explaining the assessment and treatment in vocabulary the patient will understand and most importantly, listening to the patient. The ability to recognize verbal and non-verbal cues is vital for any healthcare professional, but especially for physical therapists. Verbal skills that promote communication in the therapeutic relationship can often leads to positive clinical outcomes, higher levels of patient
When conveying information, it is important to focus on the key points and avoiding excessive unnecessary information, avoiding medical terminology, and speaking slowly. A physical therapist often provides patients with written material and it is important that it is created in a patient friendly manner. This means, using simple words, bullet format and the use of pictures when helpful. Lastly, continually checking understanding and by offering appropriate feedback can reduce communication barriers. Strong listening skills can help a physical therapist get better information, save time, solve problems and reduce errors. Listening is a process of extraction. Active listening leads to, earning the trust and respect of patients, the ability to understand and formulate solutions and can aid in diffusing conflict. More specifically, listening provides the physical therapist with key information that allows them to assess and treat the patient. Without this skill, the physical therapist could not effectively and safely treat the