Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2 edition (October 21, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1449600530
ISBN-13: 978-1449600532
Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 6 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #156,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #45 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Clinical > Physician & Patient #77 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Doctor-Patient Relations #85 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Nursing > Administration & Management
It drives me nuts when health care professionals describe a medication as reducing the risk of some negative outcome by 50% without also explaining that the risk, to begin with, is only 1 out of 1000. And I'll never forget the doctor who looked at my medical records and told me I was unremarkable - without explaining that "unremarkable" is medical jargon meaning I was in good condition.These two issues are among the hundreds that Helen Osborne addresses in her book. Osborne is a highly-experienced expert on communication in the health care field. While much of the book is targeted to health care providers, it's also a valuable resource for patients - or anyone who may someday become a patient. The book excels in describing the many factors that influence communication, such as age, culture, emotions, cognition, past experience, current limitations, and ethics.You can read the book from A to Z, if that's your preferred approach. Or you can look up a topic of interest, such as Document Design, Interpreters and Translations, Listening and Speaking, Numeracy, Visuals, or any of the others, including several important chapters on Knowing Your Audience. My favorite way to read it is to open it up anywhere and read whatever is on that page, because everything in the book is practical what-to-do and how-to-do-it. And every single page offers advice that's worth paying attention to. In addition to strategies, ideas and suggestions, every chapter offers stories and examples and a list of related resources.Although the focus of this book is health care, most of the wisdom in the book is relevant to communication in other contexts as well, such as communicating to customers and communicating to audiences. Indeed, everyone who cares about communicating so as to understand and be understood can benefit by reading this book.
Most doctors think they have a great bedside manner; and that they communicate well with their patients. However, the sad reality is that most patients find talking to doctors very frustrating. Doctors use a lot of jargon - and most are not good at explaining concepts such as risk and probability. Poor communication leads to unhappy patients - and increases the risk of being sued for doctors as well.This is where health literacy comes in. It can bridge the gap between doctors and patients, so that both are on the same page.Unfortunately , this is a topic with which most doctors are unfamiliar; as a result of which they fail to use simple tools which would help to improve doctor-patient communication.This book provides a great solution to this ubiquitous problem. It's very well-written; easy to read; and chock-full of facts and information, which can be used daily in clinical practise.I especially love the Stories from Practise which provide real life examples of how these tools can be used !
As Patient/Family Education Coordinator for our hospital I spent a over a year learning "piecemeal" what is offered in a nutshell in this book. It also gives detailed "Sources to Learn More" at the end of each chapter. No digging for additional info - it is right there at your fingertips. I wish I had had this book when I first started in this postion. It would have been helpful in steering me on a more efficient path. You can easily just choose a chapter to read, but I ended up reading it cover to cover. While this would make a great text book (and should be required for anyone responsible for communicating health information), it is presented in such a way that it is an enjoyable read.
I really like the new additions in the Second Edition of Helen's book -- it keeps current with what is happening in our world of technology, recent research, etc. If every communicator used this book as a guide, there would a lot more learning and understanding taking place by patients and clients! Therefore, we would have a healthier world. I highly recommend this easy-to-use and very complete guide.
Even if you are not a writer and don't plan to write medical materials, reading this book will make the problems with literacy in the health field abundantly clear. Anyone who is a patient, or works with patients, will learn a good deal about what they can do to make signs in waiting rooms, brochures on the wall rack, or a doctor's written instructions easier for everyone to understand. As the title claims--extremely practical and useful book.
This is a great book. It offers many helpful tips & is organized clearly. It is one of my go-to items to help prepare my health professions students!
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