The Impact of Soft Skills on the Prevention of MPL

Historically, there has been a lot of emphasis on the ‘hard skills’ necessary to prevent malpractice such as technical competence and knowledge. Patient satisfaction, patient engagement, and collaborative care have, in many ways, shifted the focus solely from clinicians’ knowledge and technical acumen to a broader range of desirable skills — including many soft skills. The number of soft skills is vast, and examples include empathy, humility, active listening, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, honesty, integrity, leadership, and respect. Emerging evidence also shows that enhancing soft skills can benefit physicians by cultivating better doctor–patient relationships, alleviating burnout, and reducing professional liability exposure. This presentation will focus on effective ways to communicate, build relationships, solve problems, and maintain professionalism, while improving patient safety and outcomes and reducing burnout and the risk of medical malpractice.