| CODE | NUR5139 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Advanced Communication Skills | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Nursing | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The goals and the stages of the helping process between the nurse and the client will be given their due consideration. The four main types of communication - verbal, non verbal, written and visual within a health setting will be discussed in depth. Other important skills of the therapeutic relationship that will be addressed include interviewing skills, basic empathy, attending and listening, probing, clarification and paraphrasing; breaking bad news; end of life communication care. Students will not only learn about these skills but will practice them using case scenarios from different health settings with different age groups including cancer and palliative care and chronic illness. In addition, students will be given the opportunity to identify their limitations and discuss issues related to when and how to refer a client for further support and counselling. Students will be encouraged to reflect on one's actions and communication so as to engage in a process of continuous learning. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to help students develop further their communication skills and enter into a helping relationship with their clients. The areas covered in these study-units provide opportunities for students to focus on the helping process and develop basic and advanced skills that are useful for a human therapeutic relationship with particular emphasis on cancer, palliative care and chronic illness. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe the goals and stages of a therapeutic relationship; - Integrate effective communication skills into clnical practice with people of different age groups and in different health contexts; - Discuss barriers to effective communication; - Distinguish between different levels of providing psychological support and identify referral pathways to their clients for further counseling; - Discuss when to engage and when and how to terminate a therapeutic relationship. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Demonstrate importance of boundaries in communication; - Distinguish between social interaction and professional communication; - Employ a professional relationship with clients and other health care staff; - Employ a human helping/therapeutic relationship with clients who use the health care services; - Demonstrate appropriate use of all forms of communication and use of language with different age groups and in different contexts; - Demonstrate appropriate use of interviewing skills; - Demonstrate the use of basic counseling skills and particularly the use of basic empathy, attending and listening and probing towards clients and relatives; - Apply clarification and paraphrasing techniques; - Apply effective communication technuiqes when breaking bad news to patients and/or relatives, next of kin. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Brammer, L.M. & Macdonald, G. (1996) The Helping Relationship: process and skills. USA: Alley and Bacon. Supplementary Readings: - Cormier, L.S. & Cormier, W.H. (1985) Interviewing Strategies for Helpers. USA: CA, Brooks and Cole. - Egan, G. (2002) The Skilled Helper. USA: CA, Brooks and Cole 7th edition. - Bulman, C., & Schutz, S. (Eds.). (2013). Reflective practice in nursing. John Wiley & Sons. - Taylor, Elizabeth Johnston. What Do I Say? : Talking with Patients about Spirituality. Templeton Foundation, 2007. Print. - Sehouli, J. The Art of Breaking Bad News Well. CRC, 2020. Print. - Bach, Shirley, and Alec Grant. Communication & Interpersonal Skills for Nursing. 2nd ed. Sage/Learning Matters, 2011. Print. Transforming Nursing Practice. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite qualification: Degree in Nursing | |||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Independent Study, Seminar and Tutorial | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Anna Catania Sharon Martinelli |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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