Communication and Interpersonal Skills Flashcards
7 cards from real CPE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Communication and Interpersonal Skills flashcards as text
A physician executive is preparing to address a patient safety sentinel event at a medical staff meeting. Which communication approach is most effective?
Answer: Present facts clearly, acknowledge harm, outline system-level corrective actions, and invite questions
Transparent disclosure with a systems focus, acknowledgment of harm, and corrective action planning builds trust and drives improvement.
When using SBAR (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation) for clinical communication, the 'Assessment' component should include:
Answer: The communicator's clinical interpretation of what is happening with the patient
The 'A' in SBAR is the clinician's synthesis and interpretation — not raw data — enabling the receiver to quickly grasp the clinical significance.
A physician executive wants to improve health literacy-sensitive communication in patient-facing materials. The most important first step is:
Answer: Assessing current reading level of materials and rewriting to a 6th-grade level with plain language
Plain language at an appropriate reading level is the foundation of health-literate communication, before translation or glossary additions.
Which leadership communication behavior is most associated with building trust among direct reports?
Answer: Consistently following through on commitments and communicating transparently about constraints
Trust is built through consistent follow-through and honest communication, including acknowledgment of limitations.
A physician executive receives critical feedback from peers during a 360-degree review. The most constructive immediate response is to:
Answer: Thank the reviewers, reflect on patterns in the feedback, and identify one or two specific changes to make
Receiving feedback with gratitude, reflection, and targeted action planning maximizes its developmental value.
In a physician-physician conflict escalated to the executive level, which intervention strategy is most consistent with evidence-based conflict resolution?
Answer: Facilitate a structured dialogue where both parties articulate interests and collaboratively develop solutions
Structured facilitated dialogue that surfaces underlying interests leads to more durable resolutions than imposed or avoidant solutions.
When a physician executive communicates a vision for organizational change, which element most powerfully increases staff buy-in?
Answer: Connecting the change to a compelling shared purpose and the values staff already hold
Linking change to shared values and purpose activates intrinsic motivation, which is more powerful than external pressure or financial arguments.