Communication: Learning outcomes

Last updated: Tuesday, December 17, 2024

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After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:
  • Recognise and use aspects of body language to improve your communication with other people face-to-face.
  • Assess and develop your telephone skills. 
  • Describe the importance of writing well and outline some methods for improving your written communications.
  • Send a professional e-mail and know how to deal with an upsetting work-related e-mail.

You should allow 90 minutes to complete this tutorial, including the Learning exercises.

Competencies

This tutorial is aimed at hospital trainee pharmacists, and will help you achieve GPhC learning outcomes such as these:

  • LO 1 Demonstrate empathy and keep the person at the centre of their approach to care at all times
  • LO 3 Demonstrate effective communication at all times and adapt their approach and communication style to meet the needs of the person
  • LO 4 Understand the variety of settings and adapt their communication accordingly
  • LO 5 Proactively support people to make safe and effective use of their medicines and devices
  • LO 6 Treat people as equals, with dignity and respect, and meet their own legal responsibilities under equality and human rights legislation, while respecting diversity and cultural differences
  • LO 10 Demonstrate effective consultation skills, and in partnership with the person, decide the most appropriate course of action

If you are a foundation pharmacist, this tutorial may help you meet competencies from the RPS framework including: 

  • 2.3 Demonstrates empathy; seeking to understand a situation from the perspective of each individual.
  • 2.4 Engages on an individual basis with the person receiving care, remains open to what an individual might share.
  • 3.4 Asks the appropriate questions when engaging with other healthcare professionals to support own decision-making process.
  • 4.2 Communicates vision and goals to the broader team to support with achieving group tasks.
  • 6  All of the competencies listed in 'Communication and consultation skills'. 

Continuing professional development


Finally, here are some CPD activities you could consider:

★  Analyse a communication that has not gone well. It might be one that you've been involved with or it might be something you have observed involving other people. Prepare a reflective account of how the communication problem might have been improved or overcome.
★  Next time you send a professional e-mail, keep a copy and ask a colleague to comment on it critically as a form of peer review. What did you learn?
★  Does your department have a guide to e-mail etiquette? If not, why not look online and see what examples exist as a piece of planned CPD. Did you pick up any good tips to help you? Can you draft an e-mail guide for your own department or team?