OBJECTIVE Recent studies have recognised that the communication skills learned in the training environment are not always transferred back into the clinical setting. This paper reports a study which investigated the potential of clinical supervision in enhancing the transfer process. METHODS A randomised controlled trial was conducted involving 61 clinical nurse specialists. All attended a 3-...

BACKGROUND Reflection on professional experience is increasingly accepted as a critical attribute for health care practice; however, evidence that it has a positive impact on performance remains scarce. This study investigated whether, after allowing for the effects of knowledge and consultation skills, reflection had an independent effect on students' ability to solve problem cases. METHODS ...

Drawing upon Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives as a theoretical framework, this study examines attitudes toward communication skills training, knowledge of appropriate provider-patient communication, and confidence communicating with patients between first-year and fourth-year medical students at a large medical school in the southern United States. The study findings indicate that fou...

Coping-skills training (CST) and cue-exposure treatment (CET) are two relatively new approaches in alcoholism treatment. With CST, the therapist tries to strengthen the patient's skills in coping with situations associated with a high risk of drinking. These skills can be specific to certain high-risk situations or involve general social skills. Specific CST treatment approaches include relapse...

The objective of this review was to determine whether communication training for healthcare professionals (HCP), including nurses and medical doctors, in cancer care improves patient outcomes. Eligible studies with a focus on patient outcomes and a controlled or single group pretest-posttest design were identified according to Cochrane Collaboration Guidelines. Seven studies, encompassing 10 pa...

PURPOSE To describe the attitudes related to communication skills, confidence in using communication skills, and use of communication skills during the physician-patient encounter among a population-based sample of family physicians. PROCEDURES A mailed survey, distributed to all family physicians and general practitioners currently practicing in Newfoundland. The questionnaire was designed t...

OBJECTIVE The underlying mechanisms modifying clinician's communication skills by means of communication skills training (CST) remain unknown. Defense mechanisms, defined as psychological processes protecting the individual against emotional stress, may be a mediating factor of skills improvement. METHODS Using an adapted version of the Defense Mechanism Rating Scale-Clinician, this study eva...

OBJECTIVES Good interprofessional communication is fundamental to effective teamworking in medicine. Finalmed is a private course that teaches the principles and methods of clinical presenting as an iterative technique of reasoning though clinical data. We have tested the efficacy of this technique using a questionnaire-based study. DESIGN An anonymized 10-point Likert scale questionnaire was...

PURPOSE Although the importance of communication skills in anesthetic practice is increasingly recognized, formal communication skills training has hitherto dealt only with limited aspects of this professional activity. We aimed to document and analyze the informally-learned communication that takes place between anesthesia personnel and patients at induction of and emergence from general anest...

INTRODUCTION Death is an inescapable certainty of life. Variability in care for dying persons, however, is present. The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) sought to guide care for the last days of life but was phased out after intense scrutiny. SOURCES OF DATA A governmental report and rapid review of evidence were considered alongside mass and social media reporting. An evidence review of end-of-l...