Speaker: Meenakshi Raman, Professor of English and Communication, HoD, Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus

Date & Time: 11^th February 2014 at 10:00 a.m.

Abstract: Healthcare industry has been witnessing tremendous growth in India and in order to cope with the demands, the administrators of various healthcare services need to possess multitasking skills. For instance, the Chief Executive Officers and other administrators of hospitals are required to be equipped with decision making skills, problem solving skills, emotional intelligence, team playing skills and above all communication skills. As they are the people who serve as the face of their organizations, they need to project its positive image both within and outside. Interpersonal communication enables the hospital administrators to create, develop and sustain enduring relationships with their employees, customers and other external agencies. It acts as a link between the hospital administrators and the others with whom they need to interact and discuss with so as to transmit, interchange and persuade relevant messages. With the responsibilities covering a gamut of activities involving a large number of personnel in hospital administration, the interpersonal communication has become more and more important for the administrators. Interpersonal communication can be defined as the process of exchanging ideas, thoughts, feelings and courses of action through verbal and nonverbal means of communication. It generally involves face-to-face communication and is a two way process. Health-service delivery including its publicity, health communication, counseling and training are the major domains towards which the hospital administrators focus their efforts. The presenter attempts to bring out the importance of interpersonal communication in these domains and to suggest some strategies to enhance the effectiveness of the hospital administration.