The Careful Communications Club starts its first year at UC High in Room 442, holding meetings every Wednesday during lunch with the purpose of  teaching UC High students how to converse with patients as medical professionals.

  “The club is geared towards teaching aspiring medical professionals, because it’s not taught enough in medical school. There’s a big disconnect between patients and professionals so we want to bridge that gap and teach youth how to communicate and build connections in their future career,” said Club Founder Junior Isabella Boradynasky.

   Club Member Junior Olivia Aguilar said, “People should join so they can get a perspective on how to talk to patients and look at different cases to see when and how they should talk to a patient in a certain tone, or if they need to talk to another doctor to get an opinion.”

  “Our president, Isabella, she’s very informative, very direct, and she’s very detailed, so when I take notes I learn a lot about the issues,” said Club Secretary Junior Natasha Reichard.

   Aguilar gave her thoughts on the club: “I like the club, because it gives another perspective on how to talk to patients and how to respect them.”

   “I feel really strongly about it [the club]; I feel like we’re making a difference in future doctors’ lives,” said Reichard.

   The club has had a significant impact on Reichard. She said, “I’ve become more open to the possibilities of doctors not being correct in the way they speak to patients. It can help not just people in the medical field. They’re good skills to learn. You can work on listening and analyzing what people are saying, then fitting to their needs.”

   “I joined to learn how to be a better speaker to people who need to be spoken to in a certain tone so they’re not scared and so they can have someone to rely on,” said Aguilar.

   Reichard added, “I’m not planning on going into the medical field, but it is teaching me how to speak to others and how to communicate properly without hurting anyone’s feelings or their emotional wellbeing.”

   “It’s really important to have women in male dominated roles, especially when male doctors are speaking to women and don’t know how to communicate [certain] things and have gender bias,” said Reichard. “In this club you get better at asking questions and communicating with people in high stress situations,” said Boradynasky.

      Boradynasky and Reichard said that all are invited to come to club meetings. Reichard said, “You can just show up. We’re very open to people joining. We would love for more people to come. We have a meeting every Wednesday in Biomed Teacher Mrs. Taylor’s Room 442.”

Medical errors are a big issue in the profession, resulting in many patient safety incidents. According to NPR, “Researchers estimated anywhere from 44,000 to 98,000 people died from medical errors a year” (npr.org). “Medical errors” is different than miscommunications. Not what the club is about.