Introducing Clean Language: why bother?

Several people I know in the healthcare world want to introduce Clean Language to their colleagues, and I’m looking at ways to help them with that.

Most have experienced some personal benefits from using Clean Language.

And, perhaps more importantly, they want the people around them to use Clean Language. They’re sure it it will make their work better. Probably easier, definitely better.

But what do they think the specific benefits might be? As an experiment, I asked my network – by asking them to suggest a title for an introductory Clean Language “taster”. There were a few themes:

Enhanced Communication and Listening Skills

Titles like “Higher-impact listening”, “Surgical listening – or perhaps Listening Surgery”, and “Concise conversations that count: introducing Clean Language”. But I wonder whether communication skills, including listening, represent a benefit in themselves, or just a means to an end?

Clarity and Understanding

Titles such as “Clarity in Care: The Power of Clean Language in Healthcare” and “Getting them to get it: Clean Language in patient-centered care”, focus on achieving clarity and mutual understanding between healthcare providers and patients – pretty obviously essential for effective diagnosis, treatment, and patient satisfaction, one imagines.

Empathy and Compassionate Care

Themes of empathy and compassion emerged in titles like “Compassionate Communication: Unveiling Clean Language for Healthcare Professionals” and “The Gentle Art of Clean Language: Enhancing Patient-Centered Care.” Again, are empathy and compassion actual benefits?

Trust Building

Titles such as “Building Trust and Understanding: #CleanLanguage for Healthcare Teams” and “Fast-track trust-building: the value of Clean Language in healthcare” imply that people believe that trust is a fundamental element in the patient-healthcare provider relationship, impacting patient compliance and treatment outcomes.

Efficiency and Effectiveness

The theme of efficiency was also prominent, with titles like “A clean bill of health” and “Scrubbing in – eliminate language-borne pathogens with Clean Language” suggesting that Clean Language can streamline conversations and reduce misunderstandings, leading to more efficient and effective healthcare delivery. We all know that saving money matters in the NHS!

Holistic and Patient-centered Approach

Titles like “Patient Voices Matter: Exploring Clean Language for Holistic Healthcare” and “Unlocking Therapeutic Potential: An Introduction to Clean Language in Healthcare Settings” suggest an awareness that patient narratives are crucial to care, and that there may be a clear benefit from developing better ways to hear those voices.

As might be expected, no single answer to “What shall we call the taster session?” emerged from this exercise. But these themes hint at the benefits people feel they experience from knowing about Clean Language, which is useful.

Especially, it suggests some ways we might position Clean Language in healthcare: as a transformative tool in healthcare, aiming to improve communication, enhance empathy, build trust, increase efficiency, and foster a holistic, patient-centered approach.