Main description:

Communication Skills for the Healthcare Professional is a comprehensive yet compact guide to learning essential communication skills that will prepare students for success as healthcare professionals. Intended to supplement the clinical coursework students complete in the first one to two years of all allied health programs, the book uses a broad range of examples, role plays, and scenarios from virtually every healthcare field, enabling both instructors and students to use it as an essential resource for mastering any area-specific communication skill. Each chapter provides students with objective and short-answer questions to test comprehension of the material, as well as more complex clinical applications that encourage students to develop the critical thinking skills they will need every day as professionals in the healthcare industry.

Contents:

Part I: Principles of Communication
Chapter 1: The Communication Process
Introduction
Therapeutic Communication
A Definition of Communication
The Five Steps of the Communication Process

Chapter 2: Nonverbal Communication
Introduction
Types of Nonverbal Communication
Proper Nonverbal Communication Skills for the Healthcare Professional

Chapter 3: Verbal Communication
Introduction
Definition of Verbal Communication
The Purposes of Using Clear Language for Effective Verbal Communication with Patients
Important Practices for Effective Verbal Communication with Patients and Other HCPs
Developing Skills for Listening and Paraphrasing What the Patient Says
Providing Empathy and Understanding to the Patient
Questioning the Patient
Some Do's and Don't's of Verbal Communication

Part II: Clinical Communication Skills

Chapter 4: Professional Communication and Behavior
Introduction
Essential Interpersonal Skills for the Healthcare Professional
Effective Therapeutic Communication Skills and Strategies
Roadblocks to Therapeutic Communication Part I - the Healthcare Professional's Behavior
Roadblocks to Therapeutic Communication Part II - the Patient's Behavior
Communication with Other Members of the Healthcare Team - Your Colleagues
Communication with Other Members of the Healthcare Team - Your Supervisor
HIPAA - The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - and Patient Privacy

Chapter 5: Interviewing Techniques
Introduction
The Interviewee
The Setting
Types of Questions
The HCP-centered Interview vs. the Patient-centered Interview
Interviewing Guidelines
Pinpointing the Chief Complaint or Present Illness
Interviewing Children and Adolescents
Legal Restrictions and Ethical Issues

Chapter 6: Adapting Communication to a Patient's Ability to Understand
Introduction
Health Literacy
Language Barriers
Visual Impairment
Deafness and Hearing Loss
Advanced Age
Delirium and Dementia

Chapter 7: Patient Education
Introduction
Approach to Patient Education
Strategies and Resources for Patient Instruction

Chapter 8: Cultural Sensitivity in Healthcare Communication
Introduction
A More Multicultural and Ethnically Diverse Society
Disparities in Treatment and Access to Health Care
Defining Cultural Competence and Some Ideas about It
Nonverbal Communication in Cross-cultural Contexts
The National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS)
Tips for Improving Cross-Cultural Communication between HCP and Patient
Communicating with Limited-English-Speaking Patients
The Need for a Medical Interpreter

Part III: Administrative Communication Skills

Chapter 9: Electronic Communication
Introduction
Telecommunication
Facsimile, or Fax
Email

Chapter 10: Fundamental Writing Skills

Introduction
Parts of Speech
Punctuation
Sentence Errors
Paragraphing Basics
The Basics of Soap Notes