Making healthcare conversations better: An introduction to workplace communication skills training for healthcare professionals
Tracks
Concurrent session M2
Adult
Aphasia
Communication difference
Stroke
| Monday, May 27, 2024 |
| 10:30 AM - 10:45 AM |
| Meeting Room 01 |
Overview
Ruth Townsend and Kathryn McKinley
Details
⏫ In-practice
đź“š Assumed knowledge of attendees: Intermediate (some previous learning/working knowledge of topic e.g. treated a few cases)
đź“š Assumed knowledge of attendees: Intermediate (some previous learning/working knowledge of topic e.g. treated a few cases)
Presenter
Ms Ruth Townsend
Speech Pathologist
Austin Health
Making healthcare conversations better: An introduction to workplace communication skills training for healthcare professionals
10:30 AM - 10:45 AMPresentation summary
It is essential that healthcare professionals know how to communicate with people with communication disability. The 2022 update to the National Stroke Guidelines includes a strong recommendation for communication partner training to be provided to health professionals or volunteers who interact with people with aphasia post stroke. This is an important role for speech pathologists and they need the resources and skills to be able to deliver evidence-based training in their own healthcare settings, that focuses on improving participants’ knowledge and skill development in this area.
Existing communication skills training programs are often not well-suited to an Australian healthcare context and haven’t involved consumers in the design and delivery.
In 2018, Austin Health and St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne speech pathologists established a collaborative to work with consumers to co-design and create a communication skills training program for health professionals. We used in-kind funding and grant funding from the Health Issues Centre (Victoria) and worked alongside educational and IT specialists.
We created a training package consisting of an E-Learning Module and a Face-to-Face session, designed to be delivered consecutively to maximise translation of knowledge to practice. We piloted training with healthcare staff across both organisations to evaluate and implement changes. Consumers with communication disability and health professionals volunteered to feature in videos demonstrating use of communication skills and strategies within common healthcare activities.
The training package can be easily uploaded onto learning management systems across healthcare networks. Following completion of the project, we have commenced sharing the training resources with healthcare organisations nationally.
In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the training program, the development and evaluation of the facilitator training program, and discuss the challenges and key learnings for implementation in the workplace.
Existing communication skills training programs are often not well-suited to an Australian healthcare context and haven’t involved consumers in the design and delivery.
In 2018, Austin Health and St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne speech pathologists established a collaborative to work with consumers to co-design and create a communication skills training program for health professionals. We used in-kind funding and grant funding from the Health Issues Centre (Victoria) and worked alongside educational and IT specialists.
We created a training package consisting of an E-Learning Module and a Face-to-Face session, designed to be delivered consecutively to maximise translation of knowledge to practice. We piloted training with healthcare staff across both organisations to evaluate and implement changes. Consumers with communication disability and health professionals volunteered to feature in videos demonstrating use of communication skills and strategies within common healthcare activities.
The training package can be easily uploaded onto learning management systems across healthcare networks. Following completion of the project, we have commenced sharing the training resources with healthcare organisations nationally.
In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the training program, the development and evaluation of the facilitator training program, and discuss the challenges and key learnings for implementation in the workplace.
Key messages
The learning intention is that participants will leave this session with the following:
1. Understand the context and impetus for communication skills training in healthcare
2. Understand the key elements of the training program, including the value of including consumers throughout development and implementation
3. Understand the key considerations for implementing training in their own workplace
1. Understand the context and impetus for communication skills training in healthcare
2. Understand the key elements of the training program, including the value of including consumers throughout development and implementation
3. Understand the key considerations for implementing training in their own workplace
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Ruth is a speech pathologist and clinical lead within the Continuing Care Directorate at Austin Health, Melbourne. Ruth has twenty-five years’ experience working in healthcare across acute and adult rehabilitation and aged care. Ruth sits as allied health representative on Austin Health’s org wide Health Literacy & Consumer Information committees. Ruth provides communication skills training to health professionals at Austin Health and speech pathologists across Victoria and to medicos in the RMTV program (Rehabilitation Medicine Training Victoria). Ruth has completed communication skills facilitator training at the Aphasia Institute in Toronto, Canada, Plain Language and Health Literacy training and is committed to empowering health professionals to learn how to better support people with communication disability in the healthcare setting.
Ms Kathryn McKinley
National President
Speech Pathology Australia
Making healthcare conversations better: An introduction to workplace communication skills training for healthcare professionals
10:30 AM - 10:45 AM**********
Kathryn is a speech pathologist, clinical lecturer and researcher. She is the Speech Pathology Manager at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, National President at Speech Pathology Australia, and a clinical lecturer at the University of Melbourne. Kathryn teaches communication skills to speech pathology students and health professionals. She has undertaken facilitator training locally, and in Dublin and Toronto. Kathryn is passionate about communication and health literacy, particularly for patients who may be more vulnerable as a result of their communication difficulties.
Session chair
Deborah Hersh
Professor, Speech Pathology
Curtin University
Student volunteer(s)
Eddie Carey
Curtin University
Tanvi Patel
Curtin University
The information contained in this program is current at of the time of publishing but is subject to changes made without notice.
Disclaimer: © (2024) The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited. All rights reserved.
Important Notice, please read: The views expressed in this presentation and reproduced in these materials are not necessarily the views of, or endorsed by, The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited ("the Association"). The Association makes no warranty or representation in relation to the content, currency or accuracy of any of the materials comprised in this presentation. The Association expressly disclaims any and all liability (including liability for negligence) in respect of use of these materials and the information contained within them. The Association recommends you seek independent professional advice prior to making any decision involving matters outlined in this presentation including in any of the materials referred to or otherwise incorporated into this presentation.
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