Writing, Speaking, and Communication Skills for Health Professionals

146 Einstein Quart. J. Biol. Med. (2002) 19:146.

Strong communication skills are required of today’shealth care practitioners. Medical writers, medicalstudents, as well as residents, physicians, biomedical

researchers, pharmacists, nurses and other health profes-sionals must continue to improve their communicationskills in order to achieve excellence in the medical andbiological sciences. The authors in Writing, Speaking,and Communication Skills for Health Professionals givepractical advice on a broad range of communicationskills. Among their areas of expertise are multiculturalcommunication, medical editing and writing, public rela-tions, writing and speaking skills, biostatistics, grantwriting, and management.

The five parts of this book address the communicationskills that are essential to a wide range of twenty-first-century health care practitioners. The volume beginswith Part I where authors focus on how to organize thecomplex technical data that health care practitionerencounters in the clinic and medical scientific literature(Chapter 1). The authors offer a brief introduction to thetypes of clinical intervention studies and the questionsabout method and results raised about such interven-tional studies. The authors suggest several practical waysto get research projects off the ground with clear andaccurate language that readers can understand in“Grammar Tips for the Information Age” (Chapter 2) and“Creative Process” (Chapter 3). Then Part II discusses theburden of publication and presentation that health carepractitioners face. Particular attention is given to journalarticles (Chapter 4), grants (Chapter 5), conferenceposters (Chapter 6), and curricula vitae (Chapter 7). PartsIII and IV explore teaching medicine and the problem-

based record by outlining several practical ways tosharpen the delivery of conference and seminar papers(Chapter 8) as well as improve learning during classroomteaching (Chapter 9 and 10). Part V concludes withseveral topics on how to develop health care relatedbusiness skills, including customer service, practice-building in competitive markets, running a meeting, andbusiness writing that correspond to constant changesand complexities of health care business. This sectionreviews some of the ways individual departments incomplex organizations can improve both the service theygive and the service they get (Chapter 11). “BuildingYour Practice” (Chapter 12) outlines important steps thatsmaller practices can keep up with increasingly competi-tive markets. Likewise, acquiring practical meeting skills(Chapter 13) and business-writing suggestions (Chapter14) may help to cut down time and effort from profes-sional workweeks.

Easy-to-read and wide ranging, this book providesgrammar tips, punctuation, and work usage, answers tothe most frequently asked questions, comments, frustra-tions, and problems encountered by medical writers,speakers, and teachers. This book is a useful guide formedical students, physicians, researchers, medicalwriters, and others interested in the subject for teaching,presenting conference papers, preparing for a curriculumvitae, and more.

Hwayoung LeeAlbert Einstein College of MedicineBronx, New York 10461

By the Health Care Communication Group. Yale University Press. 2001. 338 pp. ISBN 0-300-08862-0

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