Tamblyn R, Abrahamowicz M, Dauphinee D, Wenghofer E, Jacques A, Klass D, Smee S, Blackmore D, Winslade N, Girard N, Du Berger R, Bartman I, Buckeridge DL, Hanley JA. JAMA. 2007; 298(9): 993-1001. FREE
For anyone who ever wondered about the importance of communication in medicine, this paper is must-reading. This study of over 3,000 Canadian physicians found that the physicians most likely to get patient complaints and face malpractice claims scored the lowest on patient-physician communication skills on their national licensing examinations.
http://jama.ama-assn.org.proxy2.lib.umanitoba.ca/cgi/reprint/298/9/993