Title:

e-ELCA 03: Communication skills

Description:

This module provides resources to help you develop your skills, empathy and confidence when communicating with individuals at the end of life, their families and your colleagues.

There are sessions which:
• introduce you to the principles of communication, behaviours which facilitate or block communication and considerations about communicating with people in the context of end-of-life care
• discuss communication using different media, i.e., face to face, telephone and written
• describe commonplace situations, such as breaking bad news and information giving
• discuss how you may approach more challenging communication situations. For example, withdrawn individuals and those in denial
• describe how to communicate when language or sensory impairment is a barrier
• describe how to discuss difficult issues, for example ‘do not attempt CPR’ decisions, food and fluids at the end of life, request for euthanasia and request for organ and tissue donation

The resources in the e-ELCA programme discuss sensitive topics including death, dying, the different stages of end-of-life and bereavement which may be distressing to some learners.

Hierarchy:

End of Life Care (e-ELCA) > e-ELCA 03: Communication skills

Keywords:

anger, artificial feeding, artificial fluids, bad news, blockers, challenging colleagues, children, collusion, communication skills, confidentiality, consent, crisis, crying, culture, denial, difficult conversation, diplomacy, DNAR, do not resuscitate, dying, emotional distress, end of life care, environment, ethical, euthanasia, hearing impairment, infection, information giving, interpreter, language, legal, non-verbal, organ donation, pity, posture, preferred place of care, privacy, prognosis, relatives, resuscitation, self-awareness, sexuality, speech impairment, style, team, telephone, verbal skills, weeping, withdrawing, withdrawn, withholding, writing, written communication, young adult

Created:

12 Oct 2009

Updated:

1 Aug 2021