Sylabus
Professional Communication
This course is primarily about doctor-patient communication. It runs in English, so an advanced level of English speaking abilities is required.
Every week students are asked to read 7 to 10 pages, which we refer to in class and discuss the respective issues. Two classes per semester are designed to cover students' special interests (e.g. somebody chooses a topic, prepares a talk about it and (in advance) sends materials to the rest of the class by e-mail, so that everybody could do some reading on that issue and thus be better prepared for the discussion). If time allows, certain chapters from PEM are chosen as a supplement, to enrich medical English vocabulary and to keep knowledge of the English grammar fresh.
Week 1: How doctors talk to patients and why
Week 2: Different types of patients
Week 3: What you need to achieve in a consultation
Week 4: Ways of looking at the consultation
Week 5: Useful strategies and skills
Week 6: Wider communication and ethical issues
Week 7: The essence of good doctoring
Week 8: Special situations and patients
Week 9: The patient's learning cycle
Week 10: Some truths to remember
Week 11: Presentation I
Week 12: Presentation II
Literature:
Tate, Peter. Doctor's Communication Handbook. Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing, 2010 (Sixth edition).
Harrington, Anne. The Cure Within. New York: W. W. Norton, 2008.
Siegel, Bernie. Love, Medicine and Miracles. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1986.
Glendinning, Eric H. and Ron Howard. Professional English in Use:
Medicine. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.