More than one in three doctors registered in the UK qualified abroad and many more who qualified in the UK may not speak English as their first language. The NHS relies heavily on the skills and dedication of these doctors and could not continue without them.
Wessex is committed to supporting doctors who are struggling with their use of English and/or communication skills, by offering advanced communication and language skills support, where it is identified as a requirement.
Advanced communication and language skills experts
Case managers may identify that a doctors requires advanced communication and language skills support. The doctor will be offered a choice between two different approaches of communication support, provided by the following Wessex PSW expert:
Joanna Hopkins
Joanna Hopkins provides advanced communication skills support, via Skype classes (depending on the doctor’s need). The sessions are tailor-made to suit each individual and last approximately 40 minutes.
Due to the format of these sessions, they can easily be fitted into busy timetables, and doctors can attend in their own home or office. The doctor just needs to have access to a computer and to have a Skype address, to attend.
The sessions are aimed at:
– Improving doctor-to-patient communication by practising colloquial and idiomatic language, layman’s terminology, more natural English phrasing and pronunciation (such as sounds, intonation and stress patterns)
– Improving colleague-to-colleague communication, via role plays, that improve aspects such as assertiveness in meetings, conveying information accurately, requesting appropriately
Joanna will design her Skype classes around the doctor, aiming to empower them to become more confident in a range of everyday situations.
Joanna’s classes are about more than English. They will cover how patients and colleagues communicate, and all that that involves. They are about learning how to make the ‘right noises’ and allowing the doctor to practice reacting appropriately to the silences between the language they hear.
For more information about Joanna Hopkins, please her biography page.