In May we have been visited by one of the absolute world leaders in clinical communication research! Professor Pål Gulbrandsen from the University of Oslo gave an open lecture in Aula Leopoldina, titled “A case for the study of interaction physiology: why we need humanities and social sciences in medicine”. Then, in the CIRHI’s office Pål Gulbrandsen conducted a workshop for a group of doctoral students. The professor spoke about empirical research on the doctor-patient communication that he carries out at the University of Oslo, which points to the need to integrate the humanities and social sciences into medical education. He also elaborated on the many years of experience he had had as a general practitioner, which made him realise the importance of humanistic, personalistic dialogue and understanding in relations with patients.

Bio

Pål Gulbrandsen, MD, PhD, is professor of health services research at the Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo. He specialised in general practice and public health; after 14 years he completed his PhD on Social Context in General Practice. He then worked for four years as deputy editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association and subsequently headed two research units over five years. Altogether professor Gulbrandsen has done a variety of health services research during a span of 25 years, most of them focused on the doctor-patient relationship and clinical communication. For the last ten years, he has been focused particularly on information exchange and uncertainty in clinical talks, and is now the PI of three projects exploring those themes.