Communication Skills
Healthcare communication is the structured exchange of information, meaning and emotion between patients, families and professionals to support safe, respectful and effective care.
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Communication Skills
Subject Summary
The public overview below follows the supplied PhysioVeda Academics subject summary.
Healthcare communication is the structured exchange of information, meaning and emotion between patients, families and professionals in order to support safe, respectful and effective care.
High-quality communication combines verbal clarity with attentive nonverbal behavior, active listening, empathy, appropriate questioning and confirmation of understanding.
Patient-centered communication explores the patient's concerns, goals, values and context rather than focusing only on disease information.
Communication skills also support informed consent, shared decision making, team coordination, clinical handover, de-escalation, health literacy and safe documentation.
This summary follows the uploaded PhysioVeda Academics outline across 22 topics from foundational communication and rapport through difficult news, motivational communication, team handover, digital communication and documentation.
Whole-subject high-yield numbers
Use these supplied values and key facts for quick whole-subject revision.
| Item | Number / key fact |
|---|---|
| Open questions | Invite broad patient narrative |
| Closed questions | Clarify specific facts |
| Teach-back | Ask patient to explain information in their own words |
| SBAR | Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation |
| Closed-loop communication | Sender message -> receiver repeat-back -> confirmation |
| Shared decision making | Evidence + clinician expertise + patient goals/preferences |
| Informed consent | Information + understanding + capacity + voluntariness + agreement |
| Health literacy | Use plain language universally rather than assuming literacy level |
Core references
- Silverman J, Kurtz S, Draper J. Skills for Communicating with Patients. 4th ed. CRC Press; 2024.
- Kurtz S, Silverman J, Draper J. Teaching and Learning Communication Skills in Medicine. 2nd ed. CRC Press; 2005.
- Arnold EC, Boggs KU. Interpersonal Relationships: Professional Communication Skills for Nurses. 8th ed. Elsevier; 2019.
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