Course overview
Drawing upon sound scientific research findings, this program:
- offers insight into the impact of factors such as medical specialty, medical procedure, patient culture, nature of patient complaint, patient characteristics, severity of disease and certainty of outcomes on patients’ expectations and needs
- develops clinicians’ awareness of situational, psychological, emotional and motivational barriers to effective patient-specific communication
- provides clinicians with practical tools for detecting and responding to patients’ needs and barriers to effective patient communication.
In addition to providing clinicians with an evidence-based approach to effective health communication, our program provides both feedback and skills training and the format of the series offers a safe, professional forum in which to:
- collaboratively workshop alternative ways to communicate with more challenging patients
- develop strategies to overcome personal obstacles to effective communication with patients
- provides performance/evaluative feedback.
Format
This program is delivered entirely online, making it accessible to all health professionals in Australia and abroad.
Each series consists of five sessions, held fortnightly, on the following topics:
- The context-dependence of communication skills
- Situation-specific communication
- Patient-specific communication
- Clinician-related obstacles to effective communication
- Cue-based communication
Homework tasks
You are expected to use the skills covered with your patients between sessions, culminating in a case presentation in the final session. These tasks are designed to give you an opportunity to practise and reflect on the skills you explored in each session.
Upcoming dates
Dates for 2019 will be made available in the new year.
For more information, to register your interest or be notified of upcoming dates, please email paineducation.admin@sydney.edu.au.