Difficult Conversations in Medicine

ISBN-13: 9780198527749 / Angielski / Miękka / 2004 / 254 str.

Elisabeth MacDonald

Opis

In all branches of medicine, effective communication between health care professionals and patients, families and carers is essential to ensure first-class treatment. Increasing public awareness of health issues and the ready availability of health information have led the public to be more widely informed about common conditions and the treatments available. Patients therefore attend a medical consultation better informed so the need for improved communication skills is even greater. Skill is communication is a matter of personal ability which varies widely between individuals in the medical profession as in any other. In response, the aim of this book is to dispel the anxieties which contribute to poor communication. This book covers ethical and legal issues, planning difficult conversations, the patient's and doctor's perspectives, issues surrounding special groups such as children and the elderly, and coversations with patients from different cultural backgrounds. Outlines of possible clinical cases posing specific problems are included with guidance on how to handle them.

Recenzje

. . . it is to the editor's credit that she has managed to assemble authors who tackle the subject in an approachable and interesting way . . . There is a wealth of good advice, in many cases well illustrated by specific examples. At the end there is an appendix of transcripts of examples of actual conversations, which is particularly useful and is also a lively read . . . this book is a really useful addition to the published work on communication skills . . . It deserves to be widely read, especially by young doctors but also by students, consultants and GPs, all of whom might be spared sleepless nights mulling over conversations that somehow went wrong.