Effective Communication Skills For Doctors

This clear and easy to read book explores the different communication models that can be used within a healthcare setting and outlines how individuals can develop and improve their communication skills quickly and easily.

Effective communication is at the heart of medical profession, whether it is patient-doctor communication, interpersonal communication, or communication with the scientific and research community. However, medical professionals are not adequately trained in these skills, and when it comes to presentations, the message is often lost due to inadequate preparation, ineffective slides, and a generally unconvincing performance by the presenter. This book addresses all aspects of the communication skills required by individuals entering medical school as well as professionals farther up the career ladder. Each chapter offers a quote or a statement that captures the essence of the text. Adopting a unique approach known an A, B, C, D and E (Assess Need, Brief, Contextualize, Describe and Evaluate) the book includes abundant illustrations, real-world case scenarios, anecdotes, tables, graphs and cartoons, as well as practical information, and tips on communicating effectively. As such it is a valuable resource for new and experienced clinicians, educators and researchers wanting to improve their communications skills.

Aimed at senior medical students and doctors in training, the key objective of this book is to help them become more competent in dealing with common areas of communication which many find particuarly difficult. The author covers the main areas where communication takes place and the difficult scenarios students/doctors are likely to encounter, providing practical (and alternative) guidelines to cover a broad range of situations. Beginning with a review of basic communication skills, the text includes doctor/patient interchanges taken from the author's own work experience. These feature both good and bad examples of real communication and include alternative ways of handling difficult situations. Research is cited where appropriate, drawing on the body of research in medical communication. Each chapter ends with a brief summary and suggests questions for use in classrooms or self-study.

Clinical Communication Skills for Medicine is an essential guide to the core skills for effective patient-centered communication. In the twenty years since this book was first published the teaching of these skills has developed and evolved. Today’s doctors fully appreciate the importance of communicating successfully and sensitively with people receiving health care and those close to them. This practical guide to developing communication skills will be of value to students throughout their careers. The order of the chapters reflects this development, from core skills to those required to respond effectively and compassionately in challenging situations. The text includes case examples, guidelines and opportunities to encourage the reader to stop and think. The contents of the book cover: The fundamental elements of clinical communication, including skills for effectively gathering and sharing information, discussing sensitive topics and breaking bad news. Shared decision making, reflecting the rapid changes in expectations of medical care and skills for supporting patients in making decisions which are right for them. Communicating with a patient’s family, children and young people, patients from different cultural backgrounds, communicating via an interpreter and communicating with patients who have a hearing impairment. Diversity in communication, including examples of communicating with patients who have a learning disability, transgender patients, and older adult patients. Communicating about medical error, emphasising the importance of doctors being honest in the face of difficult situations. This is a practical guide to learning and developing communication skills throughout medical training. The chapters range from the development of basic skills to those dealing with challenging and difficult situations.

This title was Highly Commended (Basis of Medicine category) in the BMA Awards 2005. A highly practical account of communication for medical students, backed up with numerous case histories. In addition to the clinical interview the book covers other aspects of communication including how to promote healthy behaviour and the need for the doctor to work as part of the health care team. Reflects current importance of communication skills in curriculum. Highly practical approach. Accessible information with summary points. Covers needs for both hospital and general practice setting. Written specifically for medical students, unlike many of the competing books. Additional practical examples. More material on: professionalism; Mental Capacity Act; risk; the 'expert' patient.

This book and its companion, Skills for Communicating with Patients, Second Edition, provide a comprehensive approach to improving communication in medicine. Fully updated and revised, and greatly expanded, this new edition examines how to construct a skills curricular at all levels of medical education and across specialties, documents the individuals skills that form the core content of communication skills teaching programmes, and explores in depth the specific teaching, learning and assessment methods that are currently used within medical education. Since their publication, the first edition of this book and its companionSkills for Communicating with Patients, have become standards texts in teaching communication skills throughout the world, 'the first entirely evidence-based textbooks on medical interviewing. It is essential reading for course organizers, those who teach or model communication skills, and program administrators.

Health professionals need to learn the communication skills that will create collaborative and mutually satisfying relationships with patients. The failure of doctors to relate effectively to patients results in noncompliance, malpractice suits, longer stays in hospitals and other negative outcomes. Interpersonal skills can be easily learned by studying the techniques described by Gordon and Edwards. Using cases, interviews, dialogues, and vignettes, the authors provide effective models or blueprints for health professionals to follow. Gordon is a psychologist who has pioneered internationally recognized effectiveness training programs widely used by teachers, parents, salesmen, managers, and other professionals. He has published six books that have sold over five million copies in 17 languages. In this work, he has enlisted the expertise of Edwards, a highly respected medical doctor and educator, to provide the necessary insider's view of the health profession. Together they make a convincing case for doctors to develop closer and more collaborative relationships with patients.