STATISTICS
- Frequent problems posed by patients who come from a variety of ethnic and linguistic backgrounds have trouble communicating with healthcare professionals, especially in cases of confidentiality and giving informed consent.
- Native Standard American English (SAE) speakers tend not to trust accented or nonnative speech (e.g., Pantos & Perkins, 2012).
- Sixty-six cases in 2011 were investigated in the UK which alleged that a patient received less than adequate care because a physician had a poor grasp of the English language.
- In 2008, a German doctor in the UK was reported to have killed a patient by confusing two drugs (Woledge, 2013)
- Others: Higher costs of care, liability issues, and quality of care concerns
- THE COST OF ONE DISSATISFIED PATIENT LEAVING THE HOSPITAL, IS APPROXIMATELY 1 MILLION DOLLARS LOST IN REVENUE
TOP FRUSTRATIONS & NEEDS RELATED TO DIVERSITY AND COMMUNICATION IN HOSPITALS
TOP FRUSTRATIONS FOR FOREIGN DOCTORS OR NURSES:
You have realized that speaking with an unintelligible foreign accent or regional dialect is:
- Your department has highly skilled health care providers, yet you receive frequent complaints from patients about not being able to understand some of the foreign doctors or nurses.
- You want to develop specific programs and policies for increased cultural competence and communication management among your staff, patients, and administrators so you can better meet the cultural and linguistic diversity of your hospital.
- You work with Global Patient Services, and want to make sure that international patients have the best experience and care in your hospital. You want to ensure that the hospital staff is well trained in understanding accents and cultural needs and values of your international patients.
- You notice the struggle and misunderstandings in department meetings or hospital rounds when colleagues do not understand each other due to different accents. You can see the benefit of a program that trains them all in skills to understand accents and cultural differences so that meetings can run faster and smoother.
- You would like to be trained with data and effective methods to best address diversity-related concerns among your staff and employees without fearing disenfranchisement, discrimination, or liability concerns.
TOP FRUSTRATIONS FOR FOREIGN DOCTORS OR NURSES:
You have realized that speaking with an unintelligible foreign accent or regional dialect is:
- Causing you frustration and difficulty in relating with your patients. They appear to be not as satisfied or participatory in their care. You are worried that your communication, your concern for the patients, and your expertise are not coming through effectively. You would like to see an improvement in your patient satisfaction scores.
- You are worried that if patients do not follow through on your advice and recommendations well, it may jeopardize their care and safety. You are worried about potential liability concerns.
- You are confident in your skills and training as a medical professional but frustrated and disempowered by the fact that something is being lost in translation; you feel less respected compared to your fellow colleagues.
- You would to improve your communication skills to make a significant impact in teaching residents/fellows, presenting in meetings, medical rounds, and international conferences.
- You would like to improve your chances for promotion and better opportunities in your organization by mastering your communication skills.
- You have managed to get as far as you can on your own in mastering your accent, language, and communication skills. You now want to receive professional personalized coaching to advance professionally and receive the best new opportunities.
Accent Management of the Speaker and the Listener
Managing the Speakers: The CAAI Approach
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Managing the Listener: The FAPST Approach
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A revolutionary, patent-pending program is offered to listeners to help them listen and understand accented speech better. In just eight weeks, listeners go from an average 20% accuracy in processing a wide variety of accents to an average of 90% accuracy by 6-8 weeks. Weekly training takes only 45 minutes of listening to our FAPST software(TM), presented online, at listeners' own convenience. This training has been proven effective for healthcare teams to help them listen to the accents of their diverse patients, rapidly and accurately with outcomes that improve patient safety and quality of care. If interested, please email [email protected]
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Transformed Communication Environment
Hear from our clients
A sampling of physicians, administrators, supervisors, CEOs, and corporate professionals
I’ve seen improvement in people understanding my accent, especially among less educated patients and families. I feel more control over my speech; I know when to pause, emphasize, and modulate my voice. Result shows improved patient communication scores. This program enhances the trust patients’ families have with their provider. It also allows me to be more intelligible in committee meetings and conference presentations. I think that it’s very important for patients to clearly understand their doctors: It is our obligation to be good communicators. I see an important value benefit from this program and it is worth the investment of time, expense, and effort given the resulting enhanced communication and patient satisfaction.- An M.D. from Hospital Medicine, Cleveland Clinic
It was amazing that your excellent diagnostic tools quickly identified my flaws in my English speaking After listening and comparing the paragraphs read by me and recorded before and after the training period, I sensed the substantial contrast. I was deeply moved by this significant change.- A Rheumatology specialist physician, Cleveland Clinic
Isee Dr. Amee Shah’s Accent Modification program as one of the most important investments in my future that has made positive changes in my life after just a few sessions! Before I started working on my accent reduction, I felt self-conscious and shy when speaking to others (Especially on the phone), constantly worrying about the opinion they would form of me based on the way I sounded. Not long into Dr. Shah’s accent modification program, however, I began to feel significantly more at ease when interacting with native speakers, and am finally able to assert my true voice with confidence. Words cannot express how wonderful it feels to simply be myself and allow my personality to shine through! This is so liberating! Had I done it sooner, I would have avoided many years of insecurity and self-doubt.- A Cleveland professional from Croatia
The CAAI approach is a scientific and robust approach to accent modification and just what we would look for as a tool to work with professionals in medicine, who are accustomed to an approach that includes data collection, then analysis, and then action. Dr. Shah’s program is entirely unique, in my experience in academic medicine. Dr. Shah offered us a program that was scientifically sound and rigorous.- Section Head, Surgical Pathology, Cleveland Clinic
Dr. X’s capacity for discussion, dissemination of knowledge and understanding of clinical discussions has increased dramatically. Dr. X is a much more confident contributor and vocal participant in the formulation of protocols, research initiatives and patient care plans. He communicates with greater ease, understandability and effectiveness. Dr. X’s improved capacity for language has yielded greater efficiency in real-life situations. His contributions are clear and concise thereby decreasing both wasted-time and inefficiency due to miscommunication. I recently attended a research development meeting with Dr. X and several scientists from the Heart and Vascular Institute. Obviously, all in attendance were quite impressed with the depth and breadth of Dr. X’s knowledge and they were very pleased that his ability to articulate his ideas clearly and effectively. It is my observation that Dr. X appears to be more confident and self satisfied. I believe this is a result of his increased capacity to communicate effectively and with greater ease. Obviously, when you increase the ability to communicate to a greater degree you will always decrease cost. When you increase the ability to articulate your ideas and a streamlined fashion you always improve quality. In both these domains Dr. X has demonstrated dramatic improvement. Indeed, he has shown that he is an intelligent student with an incredible work ethic. it is obvious that Dr. X is able to contribute to a much greater degree. His patient care skills, although already superior, have now been augmented by an increased ability to communicate effectively.
- A Department Chair & Education Coordinator reporting on his supervisee, a physician from Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Respiratory Therapy at Cleveland Clinic
Dr. Z’s comments are much more articulate . As part of our initiative forming a new company he interacts regularly with numerous entities within and outside of Cleveland Clinic and does so very effectively . He is able to clearly communicate and reduce ambiguity which has helped convince outside investors wanting to finance the formation of a new Cleveland Clinic spinoff company. Ambiguity reduction increased satisfaction of the clinicians.
- An M.D., & Chairman of the Anesthesia Institute at Cleveland Clinic, reporting on his supervisee, an eminent physician
Amee Shah has a wealth of knowledge and capability, gained and refined over years of work, that can help improve human communications immeasurably. The only question is which organizations will put it to work and gain a big competitive advantage in their field of work–and life. No longer does “accented speech” need to be an impediment to people understanding each other. At no time in the history of global human interaction could this be more important.. I urge those who are able to accept this point, to engage Amee Shah, and help her, to help them, to communicate better than ever, with all of the economic and social benefits that can follow!
-John Mariotti, President
Huffy Bicycles and Rubbermaid Office Product Group
As a CEO or senior executive in an organization, it is the unknown that is so critical and yet so difficult to manage. Amee Shah’s work in the often over-looked realm of leaders and teams learning how to navigate accents in the workplace is simply essential learning for executives in a world of global commerce and diversified work-forces. Through her hands-on, practical approach, Amee quickly opened my eyes and, more importantly, provided me with a clear path forward to convert what I didn’t know that I didn’t know into a discipline to strengthen both my company and my leadership capabilities.”
- David J. Akers, President & CEO, Collaborent Group, Ltd.
It was amazing that your excellent diagnostic tools quickly identified my flaws in my English speaking After listening and comparing the paragraphs read by me and recorded before and after the training period, I sensed the substantial contrast. I was deeply moved by this significant change.- A Rheumatology specialist physician, Cleveland Clinic
Isee Dr. Amee Shah’s Accent Modification program as one of the most important investments in my future that has made positive changes in my life after just a few sessions! Before I started working on my accent reduction, I felt self-conscious and shy when speaking to others (Especially on the phone), constantly worrying about the opinion they would form of me based on the way I sounded. Not long into Dr. Shah’s accent modification program, however, I began to feel significantly more at ease when interacting with native speakers, and am finally able to assert my true voice with confidence. Words cannot express how wonderful it feels to simply be myself and allow my personality to shine through! This is so liberating! Had I done it sooner, I would have avoided many years of insecurity and self-doubt.- A Cleveland professional from Croatia
The CAAI approach is a scientific and robust approach to accent modification and just what we would look for as a tool to work with professionals in medicine, who are accustomed to an approach that includes data collection, then analysis, and then action. Dr. Shah’s program is entirely unique, in my experience in academic medicine. Dr. Shah offered us a program that was scientifically sound and rigorous.- Section Head, Surgical Pathology, Cleveland Clinic
Dr. X’s capacity for discussion, dissemination of knowledge and understanding of clinical discussions has increased dramatically. Dr. X is a much more confident contributor and vocal participant in the formulation of protocols, research initiatives and patient care plans. He communicates with greater ease, understandability and effectiveness. Dr. X’s improved capacity for language has yielded greater efficiency in real-life situations. His contributions are clear and concise thereby decreasing both wasted-time and inefficiency due to miscommunication. I recently attended a research development meeting with Dr. X and several scientists from the Heart and Vascular Institute. Obviously, all in attendance were quite impressed with the depth and breadth of Dr. X’s knowledge and they were very pleased that his ability to articulate his ideas clearly and effectively. It is my observation that Dr. X appears to be more confident and self satisfied. I believe this is a result of his increased capacity to communicate effectively and with greater ease. Obviously, when you increase the ability to communicate to a greater degree you will always decrease cost. When you increase the ability to articulate your ideas and a streamlined fashion you always improve quality. In both these domains Dr. X has demonstrated dramatic improvement. Indeed, he has shown that he is an intelligent student with an incredible work ethic. it is obvious that Dr. X is able to contribute to a much greater degree. His patient care skills, although already superior, have now been augmented by an increased ability to communicate effectively.
- A Department Chair & Education Coordinator reporting on his supervisee, a physician from Cardiothoracic Anesthesia Respiratory Therapy at Cleveland Clinic
Dr. Z’s comments are much more articulate . As part of our initiative forming a new company he interacts regularly with numerous entities within and outside of Cleveland Clinic and does so very effectively . He is able to clearly communicate and reduce ambiguity which has helped convince outside investors wanting to finance the formation of a new Cleveland Clinic spinoff company. Ambiguity reduction increased satisfaction of the clinicians.
- An M.D., & Chairman of the Anesthesia Institute at Cleveland Clinic, reporting on his supervisee, an eminent physician
Amee Shah has a wealth of knowledge and capability, gained and refined over years of work, that can help improve human communications immeasurably. The only question is which organizations will put it to work and gain a big competitive advantage in their field of work–and life. No longer does “accented speech” need to be an impediment to people understanding each other. At no time in the history of global human interaction could this be more important.. I urge those who are able to accept this point, to engage Amee Shah, and help her, to help them, to communicate better than ever, with all of the economic and social benefits that can follow!
-John Mariotti, President
Huffy Bicycles and Rubbermaid Office Product Group
As a CEO or senior executive in an organization, it is the unknown that is so critical and yet so difficult to manage. Amee Shah’s work in the often over-looked realm of leaders and teams learning how to navigate accents in the workplace is simply essential learning for executives in a world of global commerce and diversified work-forces. Through her hands-on, practical approach, Amee quickly opened my eyes and, more importantly, provided me with a clear path forward to convert what I didn’t know that I didn’t know into a discipline to strengthen both my company and my leadership capabilities.”
- David J. Akers, President & CEO, Collaborent Group, Ltd.
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