Clinical Communication Skills

The Clinical Communication Group has roles and responsibilities in clinical education and research. Dr Tanya Tierney heads the group which work closely with clinical and other medical and health care professional teachers in the College.

Communication is the core clinical skill. It is estimated that doctors may conduct as many as 200,000 consultations in their professional lives. Eighty percent (80%) of diagnoses are made through history-taking alone. Non-compliance with medical care is estimated to range from 30% to 90%. Effective communication skills are central to successful exchanges of information between doctors and patients. The General Medical Council expects new graduates to be competent in a range of communication behaviours (http://www.gmc-uk.org)  [Imperial College is not resonsible for the content of external sites]). It is now commonly accepted that students can learn to be more effective communicators. Although some people seem to be effective communicators by virtue of their personalities, others require support. However, even the most able and experienced communicators benefit from opportunities to practice, reflect and receive feedback on their communication skills. We support teaching and research in this area.