Many healthcare professionals find the prospect of role-play daunting. Yet, once they do it, they find it to be the most valuable part of their training.
I was reminded of this fact when talking to my friend about her father’s recent appointment with his oncologist. He has recently been diagnosed with an advanced renal (kidney) cancer.
Can you hear me? The struggle for accessible customer support
By Lynn Furber
Organisations, whether small to medium enterprises or large organisations must offer diverse communication options to truly meet the needs of all customers.
Misunderstanding between hysteroscopy and a hysterectomy
By Medical Student
In this blog, a medical student reflects on a serious incident he witnessed during a Gynaecology placement. He observed a conversation between a patient (waiting to have an operation that morning) and
In this short post, we discuss the importance of being honest with someone when telling them they have cancer. We suggest avoiding euphemistic language, as this can have a negative impact on patients
Reflections on end of life planning, fostering empowering conversations and creating a roadmap for the inevitable, and finding moments of joy within life's complexities.
The Significance of Health Promotion through Effective Communication
By Sowmya Menon
Coupled with effective communication, health promotion becomes a powerful tool that empowers individuals and communities to take charge of their well-being.
Communicating with patient carers: Learning disability focus
By Nonyelum Anigbo and Sowmya Menon
Nonyelum writes about how important it is to utilise the experience and knowledge of the carers who look after family or others who have a form of learning disability.
These two students write about the experiences of healthcare students working on placements within the NHS, and offer some insights and strategies for helping students.
Communication skills gaps: Hidden insights from medical students
By Fejiro Okagbare
Fejiro summarises findings from medical students working within the NHS, when asked to describe their experiences of good and not so bad communication experiences they have witnessed or experienced.
Using Communities of Practice to Reduce Consultant Burden
By Lynn Furber
We summarise our thoughts following a recent advanced communication skills course with a group of healthcare Consultants. Creating a community of practitioners can reduce consultant burnout.
Nonyelum shares her thoughts about the importance of non-verbal communication between patients and healthcare professionals and provides some tips about how we can improve our skills.
Nonyelum is a pharmacy student but is very active within the BAME community and is passionate about supporting BAME healthcare professionals. She has written a blog to show how this can be achieved.
Helping healthcare professionals practice self care
By Sheena Campbell
We consider ways we can help healthcare professionals (HCPs) practice self care. Through reflection and experiential learning they can learn to throw the proverbial monkey off their backs.
Patients have told us they are confused by the term self-management and what it means for them and their healthcare? Are they to be abandoned and left to their own devices?
Translation is a language barrier for many people, especially in the ever-growing globalised societies we live. We will touch on some of the pros and cons of using family members to translate.
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Preparing for difficult conversations with others is key. SPIKES is a helpful strategy to help healthcare professionals have difficult conversations and is outlined in this blog.
There has never been a more significant time to pull together. Especially when we need to be creative in the way we teach and deliver communication skills training.