Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the Health Service Executive in Ireland. We look forward to meeting you in person and benefiting from the wealth of life and medical experience that you bring to our healthcare services. We are very privileged to have you as our colleagues.
In the National Healthcare Communication Programme (NHCP), we have a number of interactive communication skills training workshops, which are a comprehensive guide to communication skills and also great fun to complete. We encourage you to attend these workshops and let’s work together to enhance our communication skills and improve the experience of the people who use our healthcare services.
None of us are perfect communicators, but we can all improve. That improvement comes from a combination of knowledge, experience, feedback and perhaps above all – self-awareness. As you go through the App and watch the videos, consider the skills and how they apply to your day to day work. Remember – that although good communication looks easy, it is in fact a practiced art…developing and improving communication skills is a lifelong task, while some staff may have a naturally good approach to communication with people and their caregivers, all staff can improve core skills.
This App aims to summarise in one place, the NHCP learning materials to help you with your day to day conversations in healthcare. We have also included information on particular aspects of communication (e.g., Idioms) for you to consider when working in a new country and healthcare system. We hope that you find it these materials of benefit. We wish you all the best of luck and congratulations on your success as you embark on this journey.
Professor Peter Gillen
Associate Professor of Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Winifred Ryan
Leadership, Educational and Talent Management, Health Service Executive