Handbook of Communication in Anaesthesia & Critical Care

Dr Cyna is a Consultant Anaesthetist, Supervisor of Anaesthesia Research at the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide and Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide. He graduated from the University of Leicester Medical School and trained in Anaesthesia in the UK and Baltimore, USA. He worked as a consultant anaesthetist in Hartlepool, UK prior to emigrating to Australia 12 years ago. He has research and teaching interests in obstetrics and paediatric anaesthesia. He is a member of the Australian Society of Hypnosis and is actively involved in teaching anaesthetists, clinicians, nursing, midwifery and other clinical staff, including psychologists, communication and hypnosis techniques as an adjunct to their practice.Dr Andrew is a Senior Consultant Anaesthetist, and a Supervisor of Training at the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide. She completed her undergraduate medical training in Manchester, UK and her postgraduate anaesthesia training in Australia. Her main work interests include teaching and research. She is a member of the Australian Society of Hypnosis and is a certified trainer in the Process Communication Model.Dr Tan is a Senior Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Management at the Nepean Hospital in Sydney, Australia. She has a subspecialty interest in acute and chronic pain management. She is a graduate of the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the UK and was a consultant anaesthetist at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary prior to emigrating to Australia in 1998. She has a longstanding interest in teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students in anaesthesia and communication.Dr Smith is consultant anaesthetist and Director of the Patient Safety Research Unit, Royal Lancaster Infirmary. He has a longstanding interest in the quality and safety of anaesthetic care and anaesthesia education.

• SECTION I PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION ; 1. To begin... ; 2. Structures ; 3. How words hurt ; 4. Language and the subconscious ; 5. Narrative and Metaphor ; SECTION II ROUTINE CLINICAL APPLICATIONS ; 6. The pre-anaesthetic visit ; 7. Consent ; 8. Perioperative care ; SECTION III SPECIFIC CLINICAL CONTEXTS ; 9. The obstetric patient ; 10. The paediatric patient ; 11. Critical care ; 12. When bad things happen ; 13. Patients with special needs ; 14. Needle phobia ; 15. Intra-operative awareness ; SECTION IV COMMUNICATION WITH COLLEAGUES ; 16. Safety-critical communication ; 17. The theatre team ; 18. Teaching and research ; 19. Administrators ; SECTION V ADVANCED COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES ; 20. Hypnotic techniques

Overall, this is an excellent resource on effective communication in healthcare. It brings up interesting communication concerns with patients interacting with anesthesiologists in different clinical contexts and it reminds one to prioritize patient perceptions that will allow patient autonomy and cooperation and decrease patient anxiety.