How to Teach Clinical Communications SkillsDemand has never been greater for teachers of English for the healthcare sector. Indeed , most university faculties require their healthcare students to study English as part of their degrees and some now teach in the field through the medium of English.
Many healthcare professionals work overseas to extend their practice and need English to communicate either with native speakers or as a lingua franca with non-native speaker patients and colleagues. English language competence (IELTS 7.5 or OET Grade B) is required by many registration boards before licenses to practice are granted, so ensuring safe practice as per Codes of Practice and Codes of Ethics. The rise in medical tourism further extends the need for English as a means for communication. There are also an increasing number of courses offered in preparation for OET by private language schools, individual trainers and institutions of higher and further education, where a grasp of clinical communications skills and the impact for an effective patient encounter is key. |
During the course, you will (learn how to):
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Testimonials
Read what some of my former trainees have said about How to Teach Clinical Communications Skills:
Read what some of my former trainees have said about How to Teach Clinical Communications Skills:
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Isabella As a former healthcare professional, my knowledge of clinical communication skills was limited to what I’d learned in medical school. However, as a result of following this course, I now feel better equipped, not only with a better understanding of my target audience’s needs, but also in terms of how I’d like to conduct my lessons. Most of my communication skills were picked up through ‘shadowing’ doctors in my clinical rotations. While we did come across some of the clinical communications models mentioned on Ros’ course, we didn’t cover them to the same extent or detail. I wouldn’t have been able to put a name to certain techniques, let alone explain them to my own learners in any logical or meaningful way. Completing Ros’ course means I am now able to approach them from a teaching rather than a physician’s perspective, and as a trainer, I really needed to understand how to teach these skills in an effective and practical way. Having completed the course, I now feel more confident about what I’ll be teaching, about sourcing and creating materials, and about structuring my lessons. I have a much better appreciation of the use of video content and how to approach it from different angles for different topics. And while I am not an OET trainer, the introduction to OET was really useful. Having a basic understanding of the test will help me structure my lessons, even if not specifically targeted at OET candidates. Finally, I also appreciated how the course itself was structured, something I think I will be able to mirror in lessons with my own learners. I would fully recommend How to teach Clinical Communications Skills. Not only did it refresh my memory, but it also made me aware of areas that were not covered so well in medical school and how to teach them more effectively. I think this course has been incredibly beneficial and has better prepared me for teaching medical English. Isabella Gresswell Medical English trainer, Portugual (May 2025) Agnès Two weeks into the course and I finally realised what had been missing from the care my own mother had received before she passed away. The real trigger had been discovering the patient-/person-centred approach and understanding its far-reaching implications, not only for the patient, but also for their loved ones. I was new to this field and didn’t know anything about clinical communications skills until the day I came across an interview with Ros by Rachael Roberts. Joining this course provided a real opportunity to discover a new teaching environment. English for healthcare really appealed to me and I’d been considering it for some time. Ros’ course was the chance to learn some of the tricks of the trade to enable me to tackle it as a professional. My journey began with dieticians and I’m now very much hoping for my business to develop and for me to work in collaboration with private hospitals in Geneva. The next step will be to complete the OET teacher training course and obtain my Knowledge badge. For anyone considering it, I would tell them it’s a high-quality course containing invaluable advice and information, devised and delivered by a passionate expert. Having access to the modules once the course has ended is essential as it means we can always refer back to the content as well as retrieve useful sources to use with our learners. Finally, the online chats via the (closed) Facebook group have given us the chance to express ourselves, meet other people and create a community. Agnès Huyton, English Objective ESP Trainer, France/Switzerland (Oct 2024) Anne-Marie I had no prior knowledge of clinical communications skills and so Ros’ course was a revelation! The content itself included straightforward explanations and examples, and I now realise that I don’t need a wealth of medical knowledge to teach it. My biggest take away was probably the fact that overseas medical professionals might not have had any communications training and so what seems obvious to me, such as cultural differences, etc. would not necessarily be obvious to the learner. I also now realise that many British doctors and nurses that I’ve come across could also do with a bit more training! I would encourage anyone to go for this course, as it will give you the confidence to feel you can approach and teach the subject. And in addition, Ros provides a huge amount of support. Anne-Marie Hoines ELT Trainer, UK (Jan 2024) Michelle I would very highly recommend taking Ros Wright’s course “How to Teach Clinical Communication Skills”. I did this prior to doing the OET teacher preparation training and found it an excellent primer for the programme. She delves into far more than just exam preparation. The course enables you to teach soft skills and nuances of speech in delicate situations where the show of empathy is critical. Michelle Hanson ESP Trainer, Ireland (Jan 2024) |
Reena While I’d never taught English for healthcare, I had been a community pharmacist in the UK for a number of years before pivoting to teaching, which meant clinical communication skills already featured in my skill set. However, using these skills and teaching them are quite different. During my pre-registration placements at university, I’d learnt mainly through ‘shadowing’. So, one of my many lightbulb moments came about when realising that identifying how learning effective clinical communication skills, which is challenging enough for speakers of the same language, needs to be prioritised and practised in a controlled environment before learners are unleashed on real patients! The course also placed more focus on how all this relates to the patient's social history, needs and understanding, which wasn't clearly explained at university. Interestingly, although the course I'm currently designing is for community pharmacists, I no longer feel the need to limit myself to teaching pharmacists. The course covers several disciplines extremely well and I now feel more confident using my transferable skills and knowledge. In addition, having recently completed the OET Knowledge programme, I found Ros’s course complemented the training provided by OET with opportunities to spark discussion and share ideas and to receive constructive feedback; all of which gave me the confidence to improve my offer to potential OET candidates. Ros is incredibly supportive, checking in and giving advice on what to prioritise, as well as sending gentle reminders prior to the live sessions. This was helpful as it enabled me to complete the tasks and fully participate during the sessions with the other course participants, who, on this occasion, all happened to be former healthcare professionals! Looking to the future, I hope to be flourishing fabulously and helping even more of my learners achieve their English learning goals, so they can confidently and effectively connect and communicate with other English speakers, wherever they are in the world. Reena Mistry Medical English & OET trainer, Spain (May 2025) Magdalena I appreciated that the information provided in the course was supported by scientific evidence. This is particularly important when teaching skills in a healthcare setting where it's essential to have a clear rationale for the techniques being taught. Having translated Skills for Communicating with Patients by Jonathan Silverman into Polish and attended his workshops in Poland, I already possessed an in depth understanding of clinical communications skills. What I needed was help applying that knowledge to the medical English classroom. How to Teach Clinical Communication Skills gave me the tools and insights I needed to bridge that gap. I found the modules on active listening and recognizing verbal and non-verbal cues were most useful. Also, the sections focused on teaching nurses were particularly relevant to my needs, especially as there is relatively less material available for teaching nurses compared to doctors. However, my biggest takeaway was using video effectively to introduce new topics and engage learners from the start. That said, finding suitable clips is sometimes a challenge, especially when you've watched so many and can't choose between them(!) As for the future, I am planning on joining the OET community and completing my OET Knowledge badge. I will also be developing communication skills courses for healthcare students and professionals in various fields, including nursing, radiography, dietetics, and midwifery. Furthermore, I am sure that being part of the TCCS alumni group will help me develop professionally as a clinical communications skills teacher. The course provided me with a broader perspective and is essential for anyone, whether new to or experienced in teaching clinical communication skills! Thank you, Ros, for making it possible. Magdalena Lewandowska Medical English trainer, Poland (Jan 2025) Daphne Despite having a nursing background, and experience in helping healthcare professionals improve their English communication skills, I still found the course to be extremely helpful and I gained many new insights and tips. I was also reminded of the need to think carefully about communication in healthcare-settings in the interests of patient safety and wellbeing. It is a very specific area, and it’s not enough to just teach English or general communication skills. The course was very useful, with excellent thought-provoking content and lots of additional resources. I really appreciated the discussion around the use of authentic video and the introduction to OET training. As I progress in this field and depending on the needs of my clients, I will no doubt be referring back to these resources. Don’t think twice if you’re considering taking Ros’ course. From a price perspective, it’s definitely value for money, but do make sure to have time in your schedule/private life to allow for a deep dive into the materials. Ros is a wealth of information, extremely supportive and knowledgeable. An expert in this field. I was extremely grateful to be able to join at the last minute. THANK YOU!!!! Daphne Klimmek Business English Trainer, Germany (Jan 2024) |
Giuseppina Completing Ros’s course, 'How to Teach Clinical Communications Skills' was a win-win for me. Not only is it proving to be indispensable for teaching OET exam students, but most of the skills covered on the course are also fully transferable to other ESP fields and to ELT in general. Prior to joining the course, I had only taught OET once. And while my student passed the exam on his first attempt, I did grapple with understanding the clinical communications criteria for the OET speaking test. Key to understanding the OET clinical communications criteria is understanding the difference between the patient-centred and doctor-centred approaches, and this is covered in the very first module of the course. I believe that the discussion raised around this topic will not only give my future learners a different perspective, but it will also be evidence-based enough to help me introduce other communication skills that are more challenging to teach, such as empathy. Also proving relevant where the modules covered in Weeks 4 and 5; what I would describe as the “meat” of the course. These modules provide in-depth analysis and practical tips on how to design your own course materials in this field; content that I know I’ll be referring back to in the future. I also appreciated the chance to design my own materials and receive feedback. The success of my first OET candidate motivated me to take a deeper dive into English for healthcare. How to Teach Clinical Communications Skills has filled the gaps in my knowledge and today, I feel much more confident about taking on new OET candidates. I’m also now in a better position to develop my own OET preparation course. Giuseppina Iavrazzo OET Trainer, Italy (Jan 2025) Shane I had some general awareness of clinical communication skills before signing up for this course as I’ve been teaching OET candidates for quite some time. Now, having completed Ros' programme, I’m convinced it's a 'must-have' certification for all OET trainers. As an OET trainer, the course provided me with a deeper understanding of the skills required in a clinical setting and how to go about creating authentic materials and tasks for OET preparation. These are invaluable in helping my candidates improve their overall clinical communication competencies not only for better test results, but also in terms of their general life skills. The materials development section of Ros’ programme provided valuable insights that I will use to create more engaging and relevant classroom materials to supplement my course book. As a result of this course, we’ll be adapting our current needs analysis to make it more concise and relevant, as well as including more video content, authentic texts and role play into the classes. Developing candidates’ ability to demonstrate empathy is worth mentioning. This is a skill that candidates in India seem to lack, but something that is crucial for success in OET Speaking. Ros introduced me to communication models for breaking bad news and expressing empathy, and I’ll be implementing these into our current course as well as focusing more on intonation activities and voice modulation to get students to showcase the correct tone. I genuinely enjoyed every bit of this course, and I can already feel the difference in my OET classes; it’s making a ‘real-time impact’ on developing my students’ communication skills. Hats off to you Ros! Shane Jordan, InSync Learning & Development OET Trainer, India (Oct 2024) Marcia As an OET tutor, I was already aware of clinical communications skills, but Ros’ course gave me the opportunity to delve further into this aspect of the marking criteria for OET Speaking. It also impacted the way I deliver my own courses. Having previously focused on using the official OET materials, I now aim to restructure my activities for students, incorporate more authentic video and work towards producing more engaging and dynamic content. I’ve recently been involved in preparing my school’s application to become accredited as an OET Premium Provider. The section of the course on materials development was really useful for this as it helped me acquire an understanding of methodologies specific to English for healthcare. If anyone is considering taking Ros’ programme, I would suggest planning your time well. Take time to fully grasp the material and don’t rush, because there’s plenty of content to explore. Combining the course with a full-time schedule and extra tutoring meant that time was an issue for me, but I managed! I’m quite passionate about OET and my focus now is to improve my skills as an OET tutor. The fact that I play such an important role in ‘shaping’ someone’s future feels rather heroic, but also somewhat intimidating and I want to be the best that I can be. I would like to personally thank Ros for her instruction and knowledge in the field. My aim is to ‘open up’ and contact more people in this area and the course has certainly given me the boost to do so. Ros’ experience is endless, and I am honoured to now have her as a peer in the field. Marcia Martins OET Tutor, Portugal (Jan 2024) |
FAQs
Some of the questions you might be asking yourself about How to Teach Clinical Communications Skills:
Some of the questions you might be asking yourself about How to Teach Clinical Communications Skills:
Interested to chat about the course and how it can benefit you and your learners in the healthcare sector,
then contact me to schedule a free 30-min call.
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