News, Articles and Media

News, video and patient story articles.

Filter by type
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Patient Story
  • All types
Filter by category
  • Administration
  • All Articles
  • BAME
  • Cancer
  • Challenging Conversations
  • Communication Skills
  • Consequences
  • Courses
  • Cultural
  • Disability
  • Emotional Distress
  • Grief
  • Health promotion
  • Key Learning Points
  • Kindness and compassion
  • Let's Talk Health initiative
  • Patient-Centredness
  • Reflection
  • Resources
  • self care
  • student placements
Blog
  • 26th June 2025

Supporting emotionally distressed patients and colleagues

By Dr Lynn Furber
Blog
  • 30th April 2025

Celebrating a coaching milestone

By Dr Lynn Furber
Blog
  • 21st April 2025
  • Challenging Conversations

Role-Play in Communication Skills Training

By Lynn Furber

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.

Blog
  • 7th February 2025

Why we need to have difficult conversations with colleagues

By Lynn Furber

Do you avoid having difficult conversations with colleagues at work? You are not alone. We can make it easier on ourselves though.

Blog
  • 9th January 2025
  • Emotional Distress

Finding meaning in grief

By Lynn Furber

This is a creative exercise which might help with feelings of grief or anticipated grief.

Blog
  • 20th December 2024

How to Support Someone Expressing Suicidal Thoughts

By Lynn Furber

Tips and strategies for talking with individuals expressing suicidal thoughts, emphasizing empathy, sensitivity, and professional guidance.

Blog
  • 27th November 2024

Designing meaningful online learning experiences

By Dr Lynn Furber
Blog
  • 11th October 2024
  • Communication Skills

The perils of overpromising

By Lynn Furber

Overpromising on treatments or clinical procedures, if unrealistic, can cause problems for other members of the clinical team.

Blog
  • 11th September 2024
  • Cancer

Supporting patients to make informed decisions

By Lynn Furber

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.

Blog
  • 11th September 2024
  • Administration

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.

Blog
  • 30th April 2024

Patients control what they do or don’t do with information

By Lynn Furber

patients control what they do or don’t do with information and will try and manipulate their consultation experiences to meet their needs.

Blog
  • 19th March 2024

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

Blog
  • 7th February 2024
  • Cancer

Euphemistic language: The big ‘C’

By Lynn Furber

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

Blog
  • 19th December 2023

My morning reflections on end of life planning

By Lynn Furber

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.

Blog
  • 5th December 2023

Effective strategies for communicating effectively with patients

By Dr Lynn Furber
Blog
  • 23rd November 2023

Learning how to have difficult conversations with colleagues

By Dr Lynn Furber
Blog
  • 6th November 2023
  • Communication Skills

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.

Blog
  • 23rd October 2023

Utilising your local pharmacists

By Nonyelum Anigbo

Nonyelum is a student pharmacist and has written a blog to advise people how they can utilise their local pharmacists to help with their care needs.

Blog
  • 9th October 2023

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.

Blog
  • 25th September 2023
  • Communication Skills

Transforming healthcare through effective communication

By Dr Lynn Furber

The shocking experience of a Chief Nurse who, armed with insider knowledge, recognized a concerning lapse in effective communication.

Blog
  • 25th September 2023

Supporting Students Whilst on Placements

By Nonyelum Anigbo and Sowmya Menon

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.

Blog
  • 11th September 2023
  • BAME

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.

Blog
  • 26th July 2023
  • Kindness and compassion

Kindness in the NHS Workforce: Addressing internal challenges

By Fejiro Okagbare

It is crucial to acknowledge that unkindness can manifest itself within the workforce; we need to learn to be kind to each other.

Blog
  • 10th May 2023
  • Cancer

Miscommunication- Alison’s Story

By Alison and Alicia

Alison's story shows how miscommunication has a long-lasting impact on emotional well-being and perception of care.

Blog
  • 23rd August 2022
  • Key Learning Points

Supporting students on placement

By Nonyelum Anigbo

Supporting students in clinical placements is paramount to their learning and continued professional development.

Blog
  • 6th July 2022
  • Communication Skills

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.

Blog
  • 9th June 2022

Non-Verbal Communication

By Nonyelum Anigbo

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.

Blog
  • 19th May 2022
  • BAME

Support BAME healthcare professionals

By Nonyelum Anigbo

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.

Blog
  • 22nd February 2022

Complaints Services

By Nonyelum Anigbo

This blog provides details and links to various complaints services within the NHS.

Blog
  • 14th February 2022
  • Communication Skills

Awareness Context Theory

By Dr Lynn Furber
Blog
  • 26th November 2021
  • Communication Skills

Communicating with people with learning disabilities

By Jillian Palwyn

Jillian shares her expertise of talking to people with learning disabilities

Blog
  • 18th November 2021
  • self care

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.

Blog
  • 27th September 2021
  • Administration

The importance of good administration in patient care and wellbeing

By Sheena and Olivia

Administration is a vital part of the NHS, and when it goes wrong, it can have a huge impact on patients.

Blog
  • 18th June 2021
  • Communication Skills

Conversations with patients: Reflections from a student nurse

By Abi Banham
Blog
  • 15th November 2020
  • Challenging Conversations

Online Services in Primary Care

By Alicia Hassall

Online services in primary care.

Blog
  • 15th November 2020
  • Challenging Conversations

What is self-management?

By Alicia Halsall

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?

Blog
  • 15th November 2020

Translation – A Language Barrier

By Jesica Antwi

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.

Blog
  • 14th November 2020

Professional Interpreters

By Dr Lynn Furber

Sed accumsan ut justo quis rutrum. Nullam id luctus enim, vel cursus velit. Aliquam blandit eu sem eget consequat. Phasellus in facilisis nibh. Donec sit amet posuere metus. Integer a suscipit augue.

Blog
  • 15th September 2020
  • Communication Skills

Avoid Using Medical Jargon

By Alicia Hassall

Recently my friends and I have realised that we are using medical jargon without even noticing. We are medical students and are continually learning.

Blog
  • 22nd July 2020
  • Communication Skills

Preparing for online consultations

By Alicia Hassall

The NHS has been preparing to embed online consultations in primary care (GP surgeries for some time)

Blog
  • 19th April 2020
  • Challenging Conversations

Preparing for Difficult Conversations

By Dr Lynn Furber

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.

Blog
  • 9th April 2020
  • Resources

Sharing Communication Resources

By Lynn Furber

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.

?>