Designing Materials For Hospital Frontliners: Enhancing Customer Service And Call Center Support

budi hartono; hamzah puadi ilyas, ph.d.; dr. syaadiah arifin, m.pd.;

Indonesia is a country with a rapidly growing healthcare industry, and English is widely used as the language of communication among healthcare professionals and patients. However, English is a foreign language in Indonesia, and many healthcare workers may have limited proficiency in English, which can pose significant challenges in the healthcare setting. In Indonesia, materials for teaching communication to hospital frontliners are still scarce. Therefore, this study attempts to develop English materials for hospital frontliners. Through a qualitative design, this research aims to find out what types of interactions with patients do the frontliners need to prepare, to find out what the hospital workers need in English language course through needs analysis, to find out specific English language skills required by frontliners in a healthcare setting to facilitate effective communication with patients and colleagues, to find out the responses of hospital workers regarding the designed materials, to find out the feedback of hospital workers to the designed materials. Three main stages were included in the research design: need analysis, course framework design, and implementation. This research was conducted at one of the private hospitals in Jakarta. The number of participants is 29. The data is collected through interviews and online questionnaires. The analysis of the data collected followed a thematic approach, which allowed for the identification of key themes and patterns within the data. The results of this research were arranged based on the
research questions. By addressing diverse proficiency levels, providing relevant and engaging content, and incorporating flexible and accessible design principles, these materials can effectively meet the unique needs of frontliners, enhancing their language skills and overall job performance in the healthcare setting. The thematic analysis of frontliner and hospital stakeholder results carries significant broader and practical implications for both the language proficiency course and the broader objectives of the healthcare institution. The identified themes, such as improved communication skills, enhanced vocabulary, and increased confidence among
frontliners, align closely with the overarching goals of the language proficiency program. These outcomes directly contribute to the program's aim of enhancing language proficiency and communication effectiveness among healthcare professionals. The feedback from the participants also reveals insights for future refinement of the course: scenario-based assessments, structured evaluation methods, comprehensive feedback mechanisms, role-specific learning modules, communication in specific scenarios, continuous professional development, flexibility in learning approaches, cultural competence training, collaborative learning opportunities, and a monitoring and evaluation framework.