A few years ago, my father was unwell and confined to the ICU of a hospital. I had taken the task of doing the night duty as an attender. Since nobody is allowed in the ICU, we could sit at the lounge overlooking the ICU.

I spent several nights like this. I spent several nights like this. One common occurrence every day was the discussion between the doctor and the patient's relative. It was always a standing meeting. Either at the corridor or the cafeteria or just anywhere the doctor could be found. 

All doctors were remarkably calm while talking and did not waste any time in coming to the point. They did not show any emotions, nor they gave false hopes. 

Most of the time, the communication was bad news.  To make it easier for the common man to understand, they used to give instances of similar ailments to other patients who had recovered or those who had lost the battle. In all the discussions, there was no technical terms and only simple, easy to understand words. 

However, after hearing the status, many relatives returned disheartened.

I realised that many times, we, the non-healthcare people do an average job giving the correct status update or getting emotional about it. Doctors not only need to be adept in handling the human body but also be good at communication.