Managing Strong Emotions

Healthcare workers work in an emotionally charged setting. Patients and their families often experience strong emotions such as anger, distress, shock, and sadness. This free bitesize session will explore different strategies and skills to manage difficult conversations when someone is expressing strong emotions.

Open to all health care professionals who would like to improve their confidence and communication skills when having conversations with people who are expressing strong emotions.

Open to NHS Western Isles staff only

Learning Objectives

• Understand what causes strong emotions
• Understand different behaviour modes and how these impact emotions and behaviour
• Practice different strategies
• Observe & evaluate key communication skills

Communication Challenges for Consultants and NHS Managers

This immersive and interactive workshop is aimed at Associate Medical Directors, Clinical Directors, Senior Nurse Managers, Consultants, and other Senior Clinicians and Managers. Participants will be empowered with the skills and confidence to have better conversations in difficult situations.

This workshop is open to staff from all NHS health boards.

Overview

Participants will work in a small peer group and address communication challenges chosen from their clinical practice and management roles. Topics at senior clinicians’ courses often include:

• Addressing and preventing complaints
• Multi-disciplinary team work
• Chairing meetings
• Handling adverse events
• Addressing poor performance
• Appraisal & job planning
• Communicating as a senior clinician &/ or with managers/ clinical directors

Learning Outcomes

EC4H courses help you have difficult conversations with more confidence and skill, improving the impact you have on others, and your own emotional resilience and job satisfaction:

  • Learn how to anticipate the normal psychological reactions you will encounter in the people you communicate with
  • Develop self-awareness and your ability to self-manage when having difficult conversations
  • Target the personal learning objectives you have identified, based on the communication challenges you face in your role
  • Develop strategies for addressing communication challenges as a supportive peer-learning group, with skilled facilitators guiding you through experimenting and problem-solving together

Challenging Conversations in NHS Practice

An Intensive one-day interactive workshop for International Medical Graduates.

Participants will work in a small peer group to address communication challenges from their own clinical practice. Focus will be on communication around end-of-life care, including DNACPR/Treatment Escalation Plans and breaking bad news.

Applicants can apply for either the morning or the afternoon session.

Tutors are all NHS Clinicians

This workshop is open to NHS Lanarkshire staff only

Workshop Overview

Participants will work together in a small coaching group with two senior tutors. The course content is highly interactive with interview demonstrations and participant role-play. Each group will set its agenda at the start of the workshop and consider strategies for handling communication challenges from each participant’s own clinical practice. 

Participants from any specialty are very welcome to apply.

Topics may include:
  • Discussing complex or distressing information
  • Handling anger, emotional distress, collusion and denial
  • Shared decision-making and informed consent
  • Discussing goals of care, levels of intervention and CPR status
  • Handling poor performance
  • Communication in teams and effective handover
  • Addressing and preventing complaints

Learning Outcomes

This clinical communication workshop offers participants the opportunity to:

  • Review their current practice in relation to communication in clinical practice and with
    colleagues and other staff.
  • Identify personal learning objectives and develop strategies for addressing these within
    a peer learning group.
  • Consider and take account of patient/carer/colleague perspectives.
  • Identify and practise ways of increasing communication effectiveness.
  • Exchange ideas and experiences with colleagues from other specialties.

 

Handling Complaints Effectively

An immersive half day interactive workshop for NHS Lanarkshire Senior Doctors, Charge Nurses, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Pharmacists and other Allied Health Professionals (Band 6+).  Participants will work in a small peer group to address challenging, real life complaint scenarios drawn from their own clinical, teaching and management roles. Participants will be empowered with the communication skills and confidence to have better conversations when responding verbally to complaints.
Common challenges addressed during the programme are;

• Addressing and handling complaints
• Resolving conflict and preventing complaints from escalating
• Handling strong emotions – anger, emotional distress, denial and collusion
• Talking to patients and families involved in adverse events
• Addressing complaints from colleagues or other members of the clinical team
• Diffusing emotionally charged situations

Learning Outcomes

• review current practice in communicating with patients, their relatives, colleagues and trainees
• identify personal learning objectives and develop strategies for addressing these within a supported peer learning group.
• critique and apply relevant literature/ theory on effective communication
• evaluate and respond to patient/carer/ colleague perspectives
• identify ways of increasing communication effectiveness
• exchange ideas and experiences with senior colleagues from other specialties

Open to NHS Lanarkshire staff only

Future Care Planning & ReSPECT (May)

A half day advanced clinical communication workshop for Doctors, Senior Nurses and other Senior Health Professionals.  This highly interactive workshop supports Clinicians to talk about Future Care Planning informed by an understanding of “what matters” to individuals and their families.

Participants will work in a small peer group and address communication challenges drawn from their own clinical practice and educational roles.  Focus will be on initiating conversations about future care planning and ReSPECT.

This workshop is open to  NHS Lanarkshire staff only

Overview

We look at effective ways to help people think and plan ahead. Clinicians need to be able to talk about emergency treatment and care planning (e.g. Treatment Escalation Plans and ReSPECT), goals of care, and planning for care around dying, including DNACPR discussions.

The RED-MAP framework supports these conversations.

Learning outcomes

In this advanced clinical communication workshop participants will:

  • Communicate sensitively and effectively with people and those close to them about serious illness,  deteriorating health, goals of care and CPR.
  • Talk about Future Care Planning informed by an understanding of ‘what matters’ to people and their families.
  • Use the REDMAP framwork to support the ReSPECT process
  • Discuss treatment and care options and outcomes within a person-centred model of shared decision-making and Realistic Medicine.
  • Respond to anger, distress, collusion and other complex emotions.
  • Discuss the benefits and limitations of treatment in a balanced way.
  • Address communication challenges that arise when the person has impaired decision-making capacity

 

Having Effective Early Resolution Conversations with Colleagues

An immersive workshop for Managers, Team Leaders, Senior Doctors, Nurse Managers, and other staff in a leadership role.

This workshop is open to staff from all health boards.

Overview

Early resolution of conflict can help maintain working relationships and resolve disputes before they escalate leading to grievances. Workshop participants will be empowered with the communication skills and confidence to hold those difficult early resolution conversations to achieve the best outcome possible.

Common challenges addressed at the workshop may include:

  • Recognising the signs of potential conflict, assessing the situation and providing appropriate intervention
  • Prevent conflict from escalating by having effective early resolution conversations
  • Understand common causes of workplace conflict and how to use communication to defuse situations
  • Create strategies for dealing with different types of conflict
  • Handle and respond to strong emotions and difficult behaviour with confidence, care and compassion
  • Plan and prepare for challenging conversations with colleagues
  • Listen and view situations from other peoples’ perspectives
  • Encourage employees to communicate their problems openly, honestly and respectfully
  • Give and receive feedback in a non-defensive way
  • Try to resolve the barriers for conducting uncomfortable or difficult conversations
  • Understanding your own biases and triggers
  • Managing your own reactions, staying objective and non-judgemental

Learning Outcomes

EC4H courses help you have difficult conversations with more confidence and skill, improving the impact you have on others, and your own emotional resilience and job satisfaction:

  • Learn how to anticipate the normal psychological reactions you will encounter in the people you communicate with
  • Develop self-awareness and your ability to self-manage when having difficult conversations
  • Target the personal learning objectives you have identified, based on the communication challenges you face in your role
  • Develop strategies for addressing communication challenges as a supportive peer-learning group, with skilled facilitators guiding you through experimenting and problem-solving together

Challenging Conversations at the End of Life (April)

A one-day, interactive workshop specifically designed for medical trainees (although other health care professionals are welcome to apply). Participants will work in a small peer group and address communication challenges drawn from their own clinical practice. Focus will be on initiating conversations about deteriorating health, people’s priorities and plans for future care such as hospital treatments options, further admissions, clinically assisted nutrition or hydration and CPR.

To book a place email: meded.seniors@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk

This workshop is open to NHS Lanarkshire staff only

Learning Outcomes

In this advanced clinical communication workshop participants will:

• Review their current practice in communicating with patients, families and other professionals about deteriorating health and care planning

• Identify personal learning objectives and develop strategies for addressing these within a supported peer learning group

• Identify ways of increasing communication effectiveness in their own practice

 

Future Care Planning & ReSPECT

A half day advanced clinical communication workshop for Doctors, Senior Nurses and other Senior Health Professionals.  This highly interactive workshop supports Clinicians to talk about Future Care Planning informed by an understanding of “what matters” to individuals and their families.

Participants will work in a small peer group and address communication challenges drawn from their own clinical practice and educational roles.  Focus will be on initiating conversations about future care planning and ReSPECT.

This workshop is open to  NHS Lanarkshire staff only

Overview

We look at effective ways to help people think and plan ahead. Clinicians need to be able to talk about emergency treatment and care planning (e.g. Treatment Escalation Plans and ReSPECT), goals of care, and planning for care around dying, including DNACPR discussions.

The RED-MAP framework supports these conversations.

Learning outcomes

In this advanced clinical communication workshop participants will:

  • Communicate sensitively and effectively with people and those close to them about serious illness,  deteriorating health, goals of care and CPR.
  • Talk about Future Care Planning informed by an understanding of ‘what matters’ to people and their families.
  • Use the REDMAP framwork to support the ReSPECT process
  • Discuss treatment and care options and outcomes within a person-centred model of shared decision-making and Realistic Medicine.
  • Respond to anger, distress, collusion and other complex emotions.
  • Discuss the benefits and limitations of treatment in a balanced way.
  • Address communication challenges that arise when the person has impaired decision-making capacity

 

Having Better Conversations in Challenging Situations: Non clinical staff

A half day intensive  workshop for non clinical staff working within CHAS.  This immersive and interactive session will equip staff with the confidence and skills to have better conversations when handling challenging and sensitive conversations.

You will be enrolled on either the morning or afternoon session.

Morning session – 9.30 am to 12.30 pm

Afternoon session – 1 pm to 4 pm

This workshop is open to CHAS staff only.

Overview

Participants will work in a small peer group to address communication challenges drawn from their own job roles.

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand normal psychological reactions when facing difficult situations
  • Know yourself better by increasing your self-awareness
  • Identify personal learning objectives and develop strategies for addressing these within a supported peer learning group.
  • Increase your communication effectiveness
  • Handling strong emotions – anger, distress, collusion

This communication course will not only increase your emotional resilience but also your job satisfaction.