Main description:

Highly Commended, BMA Medical Book Awards 2015

This bestselling guide has established itself as the ultimate guide to patient communication for all doctors, whatever their experience and wherever they practice. As patients become participants, doctors are increasingly adjusting to new roles and forms of communication - from orators and governors to confidants and interpreters. The Seventh Edition of The Doctor's Communication Handbook directly tackles the latest developments in an entirely new communication chapter. Highly respected by many and acclaimed for its light, conversational tone, this completely updated and expanded reference remains a key text for doctors at all levels and in all settings. It has proven invaluable to all medical students, particularly candidates sitting the Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners. 'Previous generations doled out knowledge to patients in carefully titrated doses, but withheld enough information to retain power of influence. You cannot do that. In 2014-15, as soon as an individual or a member of their family experiences a major health event, someone in that circle will seek out information, usually by means of a few swipes of a smartphone or clicks of a mouse button. Within minutes they will have more information on the subject than you can possibly carry in your head. This is a huge change for doctors...' Peter Tate and Liz Tate in the Preface

Contents:

Preface to the seventh edition. About the authors. Ideas, concerns and expectations. How doctors talk to patients and why. Different types of patient. Consultation outcomes. How you feel is as important as what you know. What you need to achieve in a patient encounter or consultation. Ways of looking at your own communication. Attitude - the magic move? Useful strategies and skills. Wider communication and ethical issues. The essence of good doctoring: a personal interlude. Special situations and patients. Communication as a competence. Summary. Appendix: Suggested reading. Index.