The project addresses a crucial practical problem by developing a sustainable online platform to teach and train medical students and health professionals with using a validated communication framework based on an understanding of clinician’s and patients’ priorities and an interpretation of their needs, contributing to the quality and safety of the patient journey.  

 

Within the framework of the project, health communication scholars and experienced health care practitioners will collaborate to produce 10 videos of each of two sorts: instructional videos teaching key features of effective clinical communication; and interviews with experts reflecting on their experiences with clinical communication. 

 

Building on an existing local and international network of clinical trainers and experts in professional communication, the video platform will be publicised and made available on demand to a broad audience of stakeholders, including the general public, frontline health providers, patients, carers and medical students from various disciplines (e.g. doctors, nurses, psychotherapists, Chinese Medicine practitioners, counsellors and social workers) around the world. Stakeholders will be able to improve their communication skills in clinical settings, thus ultimately improving patient safety and clinical outcomes. 

 

The production of the videos follows an existing model which has so far been used by the Department of English at City University to transfer research findings on professional communication to professionals in the areas of law (https://legalenglish.hk/), veterinary medicine and the humanities and social sciences.  The videos are uploaded to YouTube and publicised through a platform hosted on the website of the Department of English at City University of Hong Kong, thus insuring the sustainability of the outcomes.