1 It takes a lot of skill for a doctor to figure out what may be the problem when something is wrong with a patient. Fortunately, people can talk to each other. One of the most important tools a doctor has for diagnosing a patient is talking to the patient. The patient may describe what is wrong if it is not something immediately obvious. Sometimes a doctor has to take the initiative and ask a lot of questions to figure out what is wrong.
2 For emergency-room doctors, learning how to talk to patients and their families is nearly as important as understanding the human body itself. This way they can learn about past problems and symptoms and pick up clues about what might be wrong. That’s why people like Dr. Boskey start to learn in medical school how to interact with people and their families and find ways to make them feel more comfortable.
3 One thing Dr. Boskey has learned is that it helps to act—and look—professional when he is with his patients. When wearing professional attire, Dr. Boskey says patients seem to trust him more and that helps him take care of them. When patients feel comfortable, they may talk more to their doctors and offer them more clues about what might be wrong.

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