Communication Skills and Challenges in Cancer Care
Overview
Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals have important roles to play in guiding and supporting the cancer patients through all stages of their cancer journey (NHS, National Cancer Plan 2000). Alongside acquiring a sophisticated understanding and technical skills to plan and deliver current cancer treatments, it is also required that the healthcare professional (HCP) listens and responds. It is well known that cancer causes a range of difficult and complex emotional reactions such as; anxiety, depression, anger, uncertainty and fear (Scott 2002).
Imparting information to the cancer patient is as important as it is difficult. The Skills for Healthcare Professionals DVD box consists of 10 DVD's and a booklet.
The main aims/objectives of the series of DVD's are:
To understand some of the most challenging communication issues in cancer care
To identify specific communication skills which can be practised
To recognise some of their personal barriers to most effective communication
The DVD's consist of 10 different scenarios centred on the following themes:
Anger and Aggression
Dealing with a request to give a diagnosis over the phone
Complex information - helping the patient to make treatment options
Dealing with the informed patient
The trauma of cancer recurrence
Helping to make adjustments in palliative care
Helping a relative after a difficult death
Communicating through a health advocate
Helping a colleague in stress
How to use the DVD's
Although each scenario tells its own story, the DVD's are not necessarily designed to be viewed from start to finish without any breaks. Rather, they can be stopped at any point at which the presenter or the learners wish to make comments. Each scenario is time-coded and the notes in the handbook provide the presenter with a brief outline of teaching points, which can be raised.
The DVD's are intended to be used in the following ways:
To illustrate a Talk or Lecture
Working with a Large Group
Working with a Small Group
Additional Notes
Please note that the DVD box set only works in region 2:
Europe (except Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus), Middle East, Egypt, Japan, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, French overseas territories, Greenland
