New Book Explores Expert Strategies in 'Navigating
Communication with Seriously Ill
Patients Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope
- The VitalTalk Method
SEATTLE, May 16, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- In a complex medical environment, seriously ill
patients and family members need support navigating the healthcare
system and deciding on the best courses of treatment. VitalTalk was
developed to ensure that every patient is cared for by clinicians
who can speak with them about what matters most at this difficult
time.
After years of developing and studying methods to teach
communication skills, Drs. Anthony
Back, Robert Arnold and
James Tulsky launched VitalTalk in
2012 to train clinicians how to have the most difficult
conversations with seriously ill patients and their families. When
delivering tough news and counseling about health care decisions,
too often, clinicians lose sight of the patient's perspective. The
VitalTalk approach helps clinicians understand the importance of
both providing information and acknowledging patients' emotional
responses to their illnesses.
Dr. James Tulsky, Poorvu-Jaffe
Chair of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School confirms, "Communication is
a skill, like any other in medicine, that people can be trained to
perform better. Clinicians are no exception. How we communicate to
our patients and their family members is as essential as choosing
the correct drugs." It's been said by many medical professionals
that VitalTalk is the go-to place for learning how to talk with
seriously ill patients and their families.
The book, Mastering Communication with Seriously Ill
Patients: Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope (2009)
is viewed by many as a must read. For their revised updated version
of Navigating Communication with Seriously Ill Patients:
Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope - The VitalTalk
Method Drs. Back, Arnold and Tulsky added essential
co-authors to help update the book and bring in the most recent
clinical thinking. Drs. Gordon Wood,
Elise Carey and Holly Yang were early participants in VitalTalk
and have been integral in the organization's growth during the last
20 years. Combined, they hold leadership positions in organized
medicine and medical education – and have received numerous awards
for teaching serious illness communication skills and educating
other teachers. These three co-authors have recently contributed to
Cambridge University Press's blog
FifteenEightyFour
https://www.cambridgeblog.org/2024/02/a-practical-guide-to-discussing-what-matters-most-with-seriously-ill-patients/
Navigating Communication with Seriously Ill Patients:
9781108925853: Medicine & Health Science Books @
Amazon.com is available now on Amazon and coming soon to major
U.S. bookstores.
VitalTalk is the premier training organization for clinicians
seeking to advance their communication skills. Whether in person or
online, clinicians feel safe practicing newly learned skills
through VitalTalk's evidence-based training methodologies using
simulated patients, all in a confidential setting.
All clinicians from a variety of disciplines leave VitalTalk's
courses feeling more confident in their ability to deliver serious
news and discuss goals of care. Upon completion, individuals become
part of the deeply committed VitalTalk community which offers
continued support, including additional train-the-trainer Faculty
Development programs, so one can further integrate better
communication skills within a medical setting or institution.
For more information on VitalTalk, go to www.vitaltalk.org, or
Navigating Communication with Seriously Ill Patients:
Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope - The VitalTalk
Method please reach out to our media contact, Nancy Michaels at 377773@email4pr.com, or
617-905-4711 (mobile).
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SOURCE VitalTalk