Demonstrate efficient communication skills (handover & ISBAR)

At the early registrar level it is expected that a prevocational doctor will have acquired the skills, knowledge and behaviours to demonstrate efficient communication skills (handover & ISBAR).

This task describes a number of activities, as below, where proficiency should be achievable by the end of PGY3.  The doctor is encouraged to download the key clinical task guidelines and seek the support of his/her supervisor for feedback on performance.

  • For discussion with consultant and during handovers
  • Identify
  • Situation
  • Background
  • Assessment
  • Recommendation
  • Considered assessment by senior doctor receiving discussion or handover will inform this
  • PGY 1
  • PGY 2
  • PGY 3

  • Collaboration and teamwork

    • Understand both personal and collective responsibility within the team to ensure the safety of patients
    • Perform effective handover in a structured format, e.g. team member to team member, or hospital to GP, to ensure patient safety and continuity of care
  • Communication
    • Recognise and respond appropriately to graded assertiveness
    • Attend to clarity, structure and appropriate content for specific correspondence, e.g. handover notes and investigation requests
    • Participate in clinical handover in a manner that ensures patient safety and continuity of care
  • Health advocacy
    • Consider, and allow for, the impact of social, economic and political factors, as well as culture, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and spirituality, on patient illness and health
  • Judgement and clinical decision making
    • Make well-reasoned diagnosis for common problems with assistance from senior clinician
    • Synthesise clinical information to generate a graded problem list, containing appropriate provisional diagnoses as part of the clinical reasoning process
  • Medical expertise
  • Professionalism
    • Demonstrate flexibility and ability to adapt to change

  • Collaboration and teamwork

    • Understand both personal and collective responsibility within the team to ensure the safety of patients
    • Perform effective handover in a structured format, e.g. team member to team member, or hospital to GP, to ensure patient safety and continuity of care
  • Communication
    • Explain clinical reasoning to current health team using concise language and a structured approach
  • Health advocacy
    • Identify key issues on which to advocate for the patient to ensure their immediate clinical care and requirements are achieved
  • Judgement and clinical decision making
    • Implement the ISBAR approach of identification, description of case, clinical background, assessment and recommendation for discussion
    • Recognise when advice and guidance is required in development of management plan
  • Leadership and descision making
    • Contribute fully in handover of patients within unit
  • Medical expertise

     

  • Collaboration and teamwork

    • Collaborate effectively with other specialist teams involved in the patient’s care
  • Communication
    • Use graded assertiveness where appropriate
  • Health advocacy
    • Identify any gaps between management plan and patient wishes
  • Judgement and clinical decision making
    • Recognise when a management plan is failing and, where appropriate, seek senior input to devise an alternative plan
    • Plan the order of an operating list and discuss with consultant
  • Leadership and descision making
    • Lead handover of patients within unit
  • Medical expertise
    • Present complex cases effectively to senior medical staff and other health professionals