The science of talk in clinical science: using a conversation analytic approach as a foundation for communication skills training

Abstract

Communication skills are considered a central part of medical and health professional curricula. The focus for both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in these curricula is often, necessarily, on that which is directly relevant to consultations and other clinical activities. Prior to engaging in this more specific and often experiential learning, it is arguable that the inclusion of foundational learning around how interaction works to adequately scaffold more specific, clinically-contextualised learning, building through the zone of proximal development. In this paper, I describe a conversation analysis-informed curriculum for communication skills in an undergraduate pre-clinical science degree which is designed to enhance the ability to critically and constructively reflect on their own communication.