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Online course · Australia

Effective Communication with Patients and Families

Clear, Respectful and Safe Communication That Prevents Complaints

  • About 2 hours
  • 15 scenario questions
  • Reflective account
  • Certificate of completion
  • Online, self-paced

About this course

Poor communication sits behind a large share of complaints about health practitioners, and most of those failures are fixable with skills that can be learned. This course builds the communication habits that keep patients safe and complaints rare.

The course explains why communication is a safety and professional issue, how failures cause harm and how partnership and shared decision-making work. Core consultation skills follow: opening and listening, explaining and checking understanding, health literacy, empathy and non-verbal communication.

Communicating across difference covers working with interpreters, disability, cognitive impairment and sensory loss, children, young people, older people, culture and identity. A section on families covers involving carers, substitute decision-makers, families worried about deterioration and running a family meeting.

Later sections deal with difficult conversations (bad news, uncertainty and saying no, anger and aggression, ending a professional relationship) and communication beyond the consultation, including phone and video, letters and results, responding early to dissatisfaction and developing your own practice.

What you will learn

  • Describe the communication duties in your code, the Charter of Healthcare Rights and the NSQHS Standards
  • Open a consultation well and find out everything the patient came to discuss
  • Explain in plain language and check understanding with teach-back
  • Work well with interpreters and make adjustments for disability and sensory loss
  • Involve families, carers and substitute decision-makers and act on their worries about deterioration
  • Share bad news, say no and calm an angry patient using structured approaches
  • Write notes, letters and messages that are clear and respectful
  • Plan how you will keep improving your own communication

Who this course is for

  • Practitioners in every profession and setting
  • Practitioners who have received complaints about communication
  • Practitioners working with interpreters or diverse communities
  • Clinicians who lead family meetings or deliver bad news
  • Supervisors coaching students and graduates

How the course works

  1. Once you enrol, open the course from My Courses whenever it suits you. It runs in your browser on desktop or mobile, with nothing to install.

  2. Read 23 lessons grouped into 6 sections. Each lesson unlocks when you finish the one before, and your progress is kept in your browser between visits.

  3. Pause on the worked scenarios and reflection prompts. Anything you type is kept in your course pack, which you can download in Word format or print to PDF.

  4. Complete the final assessment of 15 scenario-based questions with a pass mark of 80% (12 of 15). Retakes are allowed.

  5. After the reflective account and feedback, the course is marked complete in your account and your certificate of completion becomes available. It states the estimated learning time (about 2 hours); log the time you actually spend.

Course content

7 sections · About 2 hours · 15-question final assessment

1Why Communication Is a Safety and Professional Issue3 lessons
  • Communication as a Professional Duty
  • How Communication Failures Cause Harm
  • Partnership and Shared Decision-Making
2Core Consultation Skills4 lessons
  • Opening Well and Listening
  • Explaining Clearly and Checking Understanding
  • Health Literacy and Written Information
  • Empathy and Non-Verbal Communication
3Communicating Across Difference4 lessons
  • Working with Interpreters
  • Disability, Cognitive Impairment and Sensory Loss
  • Children, Young People and Older People
  • Culture, Identity and Respect
4Communicating with Families, Carers and Decision-Makers4 lessons
  • Involving Families and Carers
  • Substitute Decision-Makers and Advance Care Planning
  • When Families Are Worried About Deterioration
  • Running a Family Meeting
5Difficult Conversations4 lessons
  • Sharing Bad News
  • Uncertainty, Expectations and Saying No
  • Responding to Anger and Aggression
  • Ending a Professional Relationship
6Communication Beyond the Consultation4 lessons
  • Phone, Video and Messages
  • Letters, Records and Results
  • Responding Early to Dissatisfaction
  • Developing Your Communication Practice
7Conclusion, Final Assessment and Reflection4 lessons
  • Conclusion and key points
  • References and quick-reference guide
  • Final assessment (15 questions, 80% pass mark)
  • Your reflective account

Assessment and certificate

  • Certificate of completion stating the estimated learning time (about 2 hours); record the time you actually spend.
  • A written reflective account you can keep with your CPD records.

Questions about this course

What is teach-back?

A technique where you ask the patient to explain, in their own words, what you have told them, so you can check understanding and correct gaps. The course shows how to use it without sounding like a test.

When should I use a professional interpreter instead of a family member?

For most clinical conversations, especially consent, diagnosis and sensitive topics. The course explains when family interpreting is risky and how to access interpreting services.

Does the course help with angry patients?

Yes. A lesson covers de-escalation, setting limits and keeping yourself and others safe.

Is it useful after a complaint about my communication?

Yes. It covers the skills most often criticised in complaints and gives you a plan for improving them, which you can reflect on in your CPD record.

How should I record this course in my CPD log?

Log the date, the course name and the time you actually spend; the certificate shows only the estimated learning time. Add two or three lines on what you will do differently, and file the certificate next to your reflective account.

Who runs this course?

Probity Courses, an education provider with no affiliation to Ahpra, the National Boards or any regulator. Your Board's own codes and guidelines always take precedence over course material.

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