Revision, discussion and application - introduction to this additional material

In the book, there are eight short sections of questions and issues, which follow each of the main sections in the book. The items fall into two groups:

For readers who would like some further stimulus to help them process and revise the ideas in the chapters in the previous section and to take their thinking maybe further and deeper.

Questions relating to the practical use and application of the ideas and principles.

The materials on the website here relate to some, but not all of the questions raised. Many of the issues are dealt with thoroughly in the book, and that material is not duplicated here.

The book and the additional material here do not claim to provide comprehensive answers, nor to have exclusive access to the whole truth. Many of the topics deserve whole books in their own right, so there are large areas of enquiry and debate beyond what is offered. The author hopes that these sample responses to some of the questions will provide helpful development of the material in the book, as well as raising some new questions and issues. They are really just a beginning.

Please do use this material as a further stimulus for your own thinking and for debate amongst your colleagues - and for communication with the author.

Further communication
You can contact the author personally: moc/namguhecurb//rohtua

Case Studies - Introduction
In this section, there are six very diverse stories about patient experiences, all of which raise important issues about quality of care and effectiveness of communications. They are all based on... Read more »

Aids patient
Dying from AIDS: anecdotes from two provincial hospitals in south-east Asia This is an iconic story of the failure of healthcare to fulfill its potential as healing for the whole... Read more »

A case of agonising choices
A woman in her late twenties was brought by ambulance to an emergency department with status epilepticus. She was given short-term emergency treatment and admitted. Her early pregnancy was recognised and... Read more »

The horrors of breastfeeding
This is the short, sad story of a first-time mother going through hell, breastfeeding her baby, because of the serial failure of nurses in the delivery unit to listen to her... Read more »

A pain in the back
Yusuf is a forty-five year old immigrant from the Middle East to a Nordic country, where he has lived for twenty-three years. He is well-established, speaks the language fluently, has a... Read more »

The professor's daughter
This is a highly condensed and edited version of a physician-father's account of his daughter's perilous treatment in a large, Western European hospital. It raises several major medical and treatment issues... Read more »

Vaginal cream: what happened?
Vaginal cream causes a storm Staff in an all-night pharmacy were shocked last night when a man stormed in shouting that his manhood had been insulted by a product... Read more »

Model answers
B The nature and importance of communication A Revision and discussion Why is it so important that we should examine our degree of liking for a... Read more »