LEANING HOW TO YARN IN THE CLINIC

Wanda Flanagan, Dr Ivan Lim and Trevor Pickett. Photo WA Centre for Rural Health.

GEOFF VIVIAN

Poor communication between Aboriginal people and clinical staff such as doctors and nurses can badly affect the quality of their health care, according to researcher Dr Ivan Lim.

With research assistants Wanda Flanagan and Trevor Pickett he has developed a method called “Clinical Yarning” to improve this communication.

Mr Pickett said Clinical Yarning consisted of three stages called the Social, Diagnostic and Collaborative Management yarns.

“A social yarn’s just a general conversation leading into the diagnostic, the diagnosis for what the patients are in for,” Mr Pickett said. “Then you have your diagnistic yarn which is about whatever they’re in for, and the managment yarn which is a good conversation, work out a plan between patient and clinician.”

More information is available at clinicalyarning.org.au .