Check Your Understanding

One of the primary reasons this site was created is to help you become more aware of how to communicate effectively with doctors, dentists and other health professionals. Having read this site and learned about health communication topics and skills for being a better communicator, you can now take the following quiz to test your knowledge and comprehension. Even if you haven’t read the information contained in this site, you can still test your knowledge of effective communication in the doctor-patient relationship. The Great American Health Communication Test, which follows, was created specifically to help individuals assess their understanding of how to communicate with health care professionals.

Note: When you read these questions, some of them have female doctor examples, while others have male. Try not to dismiss a question because you’ve never had a female doctor. Be aware of stereotypes you may have about doctors and other health care professionals. Sometimes these stereotypes get in the way of effective communication. (In fact, according to the American Medical Association, 42% of students now entering medical school are female, as compared to 25% in 1980 and 9% in 1970. And, by 2010, 33% of the physicians in the United States will be women, compared to only approximately 20% in 1994).