Communication Skills: University Press Scholarship Online

University Press Scholarship Online
You are looking at 1-10 of 50 items for: keywords : communication skills
Communication skills
Robbert Duvivier, Jan van Dalen, and Jan-Joost Rethans
in Lessons from Problem-based Learning

Published in print: 2010 Published Online: Publisher: Oxford University Press
September 2010 DOI: 10.1093/
ISBN: 9780199583447 eISBN: 9780191594519 acprof:oso/9780199583447.003.0011
Item type: chapter
Communication plays an important role in patient care. Research

has shown that communication skills training in a medical curriculum
should be longitudinal. Training should preferably be experience-
based and take place in small groups with role play and (simulated)
patient contacts. This chapter discusses the communication skills
programme. Communication skills training is integrated with the teaching
of underlying psychological theory, training in other clinical skills (i.e.,
physical examination skills), and the assessment system.
The history of communication skills knowledge and training

Mack Lipkin
in Handbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care

November 2011 DOI: 10.1093/
Item type: chapter
Most of the history of communication skills knowledge and teaching

derives from work and studies done in general medicine, or further
afield, rather than in cancer care. Cancer care has been advanced in
attempting, as this book reflects, to codify the processes required to
accomplish some key goals: to help cancer patients to accept their
diagnosis and prognosis; to accept or reject tests and difficult treatments
according to their core preferences; to participate in studies; to enable
them to participate meaningfully when curative care is futile; and
to facilitate dying with dignity. The importance of communication in
medicine generally was understood by prehistoric human healers. In
1995, the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare published
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its authoritative reference text, which covered clinical care, education,
and research as an exposition of communication training for internal and
family medicine. Since then, although there have been serial syntheses
and consensus efforts (always a moving target), the core principles of
communication skills training have remained quite stable, once one
translates the babble of new language for common concepts.
Theoretical models of communication skills training

Richard Brown and Carma L Bylund

Item type: chapter
Several models of physicianȓpatient communication that have served

as conceptual frameworks for communication skills training have been
described over recent years. Studies have explored the efficacy of such
training in altering physician behaviours. This chapter reviews these
models and examines their strengths and weaknesses. It then focuses
on a new model of communication skills training, the Comskil model,
which was developed at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
in an effort to address critiques of these earlier models. A review of
the literature indicates six established models of physicianȓpatient
communication that have served theoretically to guide communication
skills training programmes: the Bayer Institute for Healthcare
Communication E4 Model; the Three-Function Model/Brown Interview
Checklist; the Calgary-Cambridge Observation Guide; the Patient-Centred
Clinical Method; the SEGUE Framework for Teaching and Assessing
Communication Skills; and the Four Habits Model. For each of these, the
conceptualisation of the model is first summarised and then the way in
which its application is assessed is discussed.
Evaluating communication skills training courses

Lyuba Konopasek, Marcy Rosenbaum, John Encandela, and Kathy Cole-kelly

Item type: chapter
Across the continuum of medical education, the focus is shifting from

the teacher and the curriculum to the learner and the evaluation of
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educational outcomes. In the field of communication skills training,
educators are now carefully examining the outcomes of their
programmes. This chapter looks at assessment strategies used for
communication skills training, describes how to design an effective
evaluation methodology, and considers how outcomes have been
measured in the oncology communication skills training literature.
Evaluation of communications training programmes should follow
standards and guidelines familiar in other types of research, meet
standards of reliability and feasibility, and yield information that will be
useful to the trainees and to programmes as a whole. A good test of
usefulness is to ask whether learners will know how well they perform
and what they need to do to improve as a result of assessment findings,
and whether trainers will know how to improve training and curriculum as
a result of the findings.
Care of the Dying : A pathway to excellence

John Ellershaw and Susie Wilkinson (eds)
Item type: book
Even for the most experienced healthcare professional, managing

the last few days of life can be difficult. This book provides guidelines
for the care of the dying based on the Liverpool Care Pathway for the
Dying Patient (LCP). Developed at a hospice, the information can be
disseminated and adapted to fit different settings such as hospitals
and nursing homes. The LCP is a multiprofessional document that
incorporates evidence-based practice and appropriate guidelines
related to care of the dying. It provides a template that describes the
process of care which is generally delivered in a clinical situation and
incorporates the expected outcome of care delivery. The LCP replaces
all other documentation in this phase of care. Care pathways can
provide a potentially powerful aid to professionals involved in palliative
care. Basic principles of treatment are translated into daily practice,
including bedside documentation systems, policies and procedures,
standards of practice, continuing education, and quality-improvement
programmes. This book includes chapters on symptom control, ethical
issues, communication skills, and spiritual care, which underpin the use
of the LCP.
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The Oncotalk model
Robert M Arnold, Anthony T Back, Walter F Baile, Kelly Fryer-Edwards, and
James A Tulsky

Item type: chapter
In 2002, funding was recieved from the National Cancer Institute to

develop a new teaching model for communication skills at the end
of life, aimed at medical oncology fellows. Using this model, called
Oncotalk, roughly 10% of the oncology fellows trained in the United
States over a five-year period were taught. The aim of Oncotalk was to
address shortcomings in communication between physicians and cancer
patients. In developing the programme, key educational principles were
utilised, some of which had been used in other communication skills
training, others of which evolved as a result of the unique demands of
the teaching context. Based on this Oncotalk experience, this chapter
describes common evidence-based principles used in developing an
advanced communication skills programme; identifies unique aspects of
the learning context within an intensive retreat structure, and illustrates
the lessons learned that can be tested in other settings. The aim is to
provide tools and frameworks to facilitate teaching communication skills
within oncology and other clinical training programmes that prepare
clinicians to work with seriously ill patients.
Communication skills training and research: the Brussels

experience
Isabelle Merckaert, Yves Libert, and Darius Razavi

Item type: chapter
In the last two decades, communication skills training programmes,

designed for healthcare professionals working in cancer care, have
been the focus of several of the research endeavours of the Brussels
research group. The efficacy of these programmes has been tested in
studies using a controlled design. Studies varied in the type of healthcare
professional, the type of teaching method, the length of training, and
the outcome measures. As a result, research efforts have focused on
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communication skills to be taught and on training techniques to be used.
The aim of the randomised controlled trials was to determine the optimal
duration of a training programme in order to ensure training effects.
The choice of the skills taught was based on results of studies indicating
the positive impact of using specific communication skills on cancer
patients' disclosure of concerns. The results confirm the usefulness of
communication skills training programmes for healthcare professionals
working in cancer care.
Communication skills and Advance Care Planning

Jackie Beavan, Carolyn Fowler, and Sarah Russell
in Advance Care Planning in End of Life Care

Item type: chapter
This chapter provides clarification of communication skills and Advance

Care Planning (ACP), evidence for the value of effective communication
in ACP, key communication skills with useful examples of opening
gambits, examples of blocking behaviours, models of communication and
suggestions for implementation, workforce issues, and recommendations
for further education and training. It notes that communicating about
end of life care is challenging but essential. Defining communication
and communication skills can be a complex business. There is plenty
of evidence to suggest that effective communication is a key element
in allowing patients to decide how they are cared for at the end of
life. Specific communication skills and models can be instrumental
in encouraging patients to share concerns, ideas, and expectations,
while some communication behaviours can inhibit patient disclosure.
Meanwhile, a systematic approach to developing a workforce skilled in
end of life communication is achievable and desirable.
The art of teaching communication skills

Stewart M Dunn

Item type: chapter
The art of teaching communication skills for the clinician is about

establishing practices that serve the patients' and their families' needs in
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a manner that is mutually fulfilling for all involved. It requires the tactful
use of boundaries that are patrolled and negotiated and, at all times,
mindful of the needs of both parties. As a result, a series of conundrums
can plague the teaching of communication skills: the balance of art
and science in clinical communication fluctuates throughout medical
training and experience; communication involves skills, but it is more
than behavioural skills, also requiring much practical wisdom; no one has
yet described an effective training programme that captures both the art
and the science of communication. Mindful of these challenges, this book
seeks to combine the evidence base about communication in cancer care
and palliative care with humanity in its practice. Its goal is to integrate
the art with the science. This chapter examines four essential elements
to the art of teaching communication: the task, the learner, the teacher,
and the strategy.
The Australian model

Caroline Nehill and Alison Evans

Item type: chapter
In Australia, management of cancer patients occurs along a continuum

starting with screening and diagnosis, through treatment and supportive
care, to follow-up, and, in some cases, palliative and end-of-life care, with
services provided in both tertiary and primary settings. Communication
skills training for health professionals involved in cancer care is available
in Australia through a number of avenues. Courses and workshops
are provided through professional colleges representing different
disciplines involved in cancer care, cancer organisations, and local
service providers, in both the public and private sectors. The majority of
formal communication skills training occurs at the postgraduate level,
primarily in the form of interactive workshops implemented by one or
more trained facilitators. This chapter describes current approaches
to communication skills training for oncology health professionals in
Australia, including the benefits and limitations of the current model,
as well as future directions and priorities. It also describes the National
Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre's National Communication Skills
Training Initiative.
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University Press Scholarship Online

You are looking at 1-10 of 50 items for: keywords : communication skills

in Lessons from Problem-based Learning

Communication plays an important role in patient care. Research

The history of communication skills knowledge and training

in Handbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care

Most of the history of communication skills knowledge and teaching

Theoretical models of communication skills training

in Handbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care

Several models of physicianȓpatient communication that have served

Evaluating communication skills training courses

in Handbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care

Across the continuum of medical education, the focus is shifting from

Care of the Dying : A pathway to excellence

Even for the most experienced healthcare professional, managing

in Handbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care

In 2002, funding was recieved from the National Cancer Institute to

Communication skills training and research: the Brussels

in Handbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care

In the last two decades, communication skills training programmes,

Communication skills and Advance Care Planning

in Advance Care Planning in End of Life Care

This chapter provides clarification of communication skills and Advance

The art of teaching communication skills

in Handbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care

The art of teaching communication skills for the clinician is about

The Australian model

in Handbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care

In Australia, management of cancer patients occurs along a continuum

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