This guide has been designed for educational purposes. It contains informative, accessible and diverse training resources, including those available through the ANZCA library, to support communication activities that help establish rapport, trust, and ethical therapeutic relationships with patients and their families.
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Borrowing books
ANZCA library provides access to a large range of print items, specialising in anaesthesia and pain medicine-related titles.
For further information about requesting books, see the Borrowing books page
Clinical Communication Skills for Medicine, 4e by
This practical guide to developing communication skills will be of value to students throughout their careers. The order of the chapters reflects this development, from core skills to those required to respond effectively and compassionately in challenging situations. The text includes case examples, guidelines and opportunities to encourage the reader to stop and think.
Effective Medical Communication: The A, B, C, D, E of it by
Effective communication is at the heart of medical profession, whether it is patient-doctor communication, interpersonal communication, or communication with the scientific and research community. However, medical professionals are not adequately trained in these skills, and when it comes to presentations, the message is often lost due to inadequate preparation, ineffective slides, and a generally unconvincing performance by the presenter. This book addresses all aspects of the communication skills required by individuals entering medical school as well as professionals farther up the career ladder.
Handbook of Communication in Anaesthesia and Critical Care: A Practical Guide to Exploring the Art by
This book provides anesthetists, intensivists and other critical care staff with a comprehensive resource that offers ways of improving communication in everyday clinical practice, and provides practical communication tools that can be used in difficult or unfamiliar circumstances.
Handbook of Hypnotic Suggestions and Metaphors by
Designed as a practical desktop reference, this official publication of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis is the largest collection of hypnotic suggestions and metaphors ever compiled. It provides a look at what experienced clinicians actually say to their patients during hypnotic work.
The Management of Procedure-Induced Anxiety in Children by
Procedure induced anxiety affects the majority of children undergoing medical intervention and has been directly linked to behaviour disturbances, psychological trauma, phobias and symptoms of PTSD. Despite this, there is currently no formal training relating to the management of procedure induced anxiety for medical personnel caring for children. A distillation of more than eighty years of research, this textbook examines the nature, prevalence and consequences of anxiety in children, alongside evidence-based strategies for its effective management. Designed as a training manual, it includes a comprehensive account of positive and negative aspects of behaviour that contribute to the successful management of anxious children. Chapters cover topics such as non-verbal and verbal communication, enhanced communication management strategies, support of children with autistic spectrum disorder, ADHD, learning difficulties, the use of premedication and the role that families play. Essential reading for anaesthetists and paediatricians and a valuable resource for any practitioner working with children.
Mastering Communication with Seriously Ill Patients: Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope by
This book defines the specific communication tasks involved in talking with patients with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Topics include delivering bad news, transition to palliative care, discussing goals of advance-care planning and do-not-resuscitate orders, existential and spiritual issues, family conferences, medical futility, and other conflicts at the end of life.
Messages: The Communications Skills Book, 4e by
With this fully revised and updated fourth edition, you'll discover new skills to help you communicate your ideas more effectively and become a better listener. Learn how to: Read body language, Develop skills for couples communication, Negotiate and resolve conflicts, Communicate with family members, Handle group interactions, Talk to children, Master public speaking, Prepare for job interviews.
Skills for Communicating with Patients, 3e by
Skills for Communicating with Patients, 3e, is one of two companion books on improving communication in medicine, which together provide a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning communication skills throughout all levels of medical education in both specialist and family medicine.
Understanding Clinical Negotiation by
Patient relations, satisfaction, and engagement are more important than ever. Understanding Clinical Negotiation helps clinicians navigate patient desires toward mutually defined goals. The first guide of its kind, this important resource will equip clinicians with the insights and pragmatic skills needed to strike the right balance between care and costs, while ensuring the satisfaction and safety of every patient.
Conflict Without Casualties: A field Guide for Leading With Compassionate Accountability, 2e by
Discover the Compassion Cycle, an elegant model for balancing empathy, care, and transparency with boundaries, goals, and standards. Provocative, illuminating, and highly practical, this book helps us avoid the casualties of conflict through openness, resourcefulness, and persistence.
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, 3e by 
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, 2e by
Difficult Conversations is the definitive work on handling these unpleasant exchanges, based on 15 years of research at the Harvard Negotiation Project.
Letting Go: How to Plan a Good Death by
Letting Go is an important and timely introduction to, and discussion of, the kinds of decisions that individuals, families, and medical personnel face in a medical crisis. It shows us how to start thinking about our end-of-life stage before we get there; how to make an advance care plan that will help people make decisions on our behalf; and how we can maintain our dignity and autonomy for as long as possible
Patient Sedation Without Medication: Rapid Rapport and Quick Hypnotic Techniques by 
Safety at the Sharp End: A Guide to Non-Technical Skills by
Safety at the Sharp End is a general guide to the theory and practice of non-technical skills for safety. It covers the identification, training and evaluation of non-technical skills and has been written for use by individuals who are studying or training these skills on CRM and other safety or human factors courses.
Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by
The authors of the classic 'Difficult Conversations' teach you how to take criticism productively in this book. Receiving feedback is an important skill, and the rewards for learning well are substantial. But feedback can be painful, sometimes brutally so. This title takes an honest look at why feedback feels so hard, and gives readers the framework and tools needed to metabolize challenging information and use it to fuel real change.
Co-Active Coaching: The Proven Framework for Transformative Conversations at Work and in Life, 4e by
Co-Active Coaching offers current and aspiring coaches, leaders and managers in organisations and anyone wanting to strengthen interpersonal relationships, a practical, yet transformative communication process called the Co-Active Model.
Coaching and Mentoring at Work: Developing Effective Practice, 2e by
The book provides a very accessible explanation of the whole area of coaching and mentoring across many different work settings, with practical examples and exercises. The new edition also includes a number of excellent case studies by those who have developed coaching and mentoring and a coaching culture in different sectors.
Coaching and Mentoring in Health and Social Care: The Essentials of Practice for Professionals and Organisations by
This book provides a solid grounding in the key principles and practice of coaching and mentoring and explains how this connects with current thinking in the Health and Social Care sectors. It offers comprehensive, step-by-step guidance on the process with a wide range of tools and techniques to explore.
Coaching for Performance: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership, 5e by
This book is the founding text of the coaching profession. It explains why enabling people to bring the best out of themselves is the key to driving productivity, growth, and engagement. A meaningful coaching culture has the potential to transform the relationship between organizations and employees and to put both on the path to long-term success.
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever by
In Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit, coaching becomes a regular, informal part of your day so managers and their teams can work less hard and have more impact.
The Coaching Manual; Your Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a Great Coach, 5e by
This carefully revised edition will guide you through the entire process from first meeting to when coaching ends, with methods, tips and techniques that simply work.
Coaching Questions: A Coach's Guide to Powerful Asking Skill by
The single most important skill in coaching is asking powerful questions. In this volume, master coach trainer Tony Stoltzfus joins with 12 other professional coaches to present dozens of valuable asking tools, models and exercises, then illustrates these coaching strategies with over 1,000 examples of penetrating questions.
Coaching Skills: The Definitive Guide to Being a Coach, 5e by
Relevant to lifestyle and executive coaching, human resources and careers, training and management, 'Coaching Skills' offers practical advice backed up by case studies and examples. This updated edition contains more extensive treatment of barriers to change in clients, new coverage of goal-setting, and more on assessing a client's needs.
Fierce Conversations (Revised and Updated) by
Fully revised and updated--the national bestselling communication skills guide that will help you achieve personal and professional success one conversation at a time.
If You Want Them to Listen, Talk Their Language: Communication, Motivation and Success in Business and Personal Relationships Using the Process Communication Model by
This book explains not only the concepts of the Process Communication Model®, it also gives you highly practical application examples. You will learn more about how the skills to observe and decode behaviours will allow you to form and maintain relationships based on constructive communication.
An Introduction to Coaching Skills: A Practical Guide, 3e by
This bestselling book introduces you step-by-step to the key skills needed to become a successful coach. Supported by an Online Resource site with over 70 videos of coaching in action, this practical book will be an invaluable resource for novices and trainee coaches.
New Coach: Reflections from a Learning Journey by
Lis Paice's easy conversational style and rich supply of real-life examples make this an enjoyable read even for the absolute beginner. The questions she raises about coaching will also stimulate reflection for experienced coaches, trainers and supervisors.
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