Dr. Sabha Ganai’s extensive experience in the medical profession includes teaching at Southern Illinois University and working as a senior ethics fellow at MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. As a fellow, Dr. Sabha Ganai is involved with scholarship related to promoting ethics in clinical research and practical medicine. One of the major topics in clinical medical ethics relates to conflicts that arise between caregivers and people from other cultures.
The United States is a pluralistic society comprised of many nations, languages, and cultural practices. While this has always been true, in recent times, the medical community has made facilitating positive relationships between physicians and their patients a priority. More than just creating a safe space for patients to seek treatment, there are ethical considerations behind cultivating these relationships.
Communication is key to creating productive doctor-patient relationships. When Western physicians treat patients from other backgrounds, miscommunication and lack of understanding between the two parties can hinder patient progress, which is the ultimate goal of treatment. For instance, a physician listens to a patient and feels that the patient is not complying with directions but does not understand that there might be a number of reasons the patient is not following doctor’s orders (i.e. too tired after working all day). Other common issues that might arise relate to the way in which the patient views his/her own health and the roles other family members play in their own care.
Communication is a very important component of ethical patient care, because to cure a person there has to be mutual understanding and respect for values that govern the patient’s attitude toward their own health. The medical field’s role in building this relationship with their patients include knowing about the patient’s cultural norms and values. Armed with this information, physicians can discuss medical care and treatment with their patients without the cultural barriers that usually impede understanding and progress.
Dr. Sabha Ganai 