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The professional interview is a charged psychological encounter and hurdle, necessary for all of us to traverse in order to move on in our lives and careers. The interviewer is the gatekeeper who holds the keys to our brighter future. This book is a detailed examination of the interview experience and our role as the interviewee within it. This book does not consider the content required for any given interview; instead, it looks in detail at the interview processes and performance from a psychological perspective in order to be the best we can be. Deconstructing the Interview teaches a way of mindfully connecting with the interview space, operating externally in the room, and guiding our answers and performance with situational awareness and an enhanced understanding of the psychological factors at play. As well as communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal, this book considers in detail our interface with the external world around us; to improve and refine our interview skills, and to operate in the room as our true authentic selves. Here we accept and embrace anxiety as an essential part of this process, and we choose to be ‘mindfully anxious’. This book breaks down the interview stage and its players from a psychological perspective, and helps the reader build interview skills from the ground up. This is a new and novel approach in helping the reader prepare for the interview process, and builds on the author’s previous book in this series (Deconstructing the OSCE, 2014, OUP).Less

Echocardiography has become the most requested imaging modalities. It is the first line imaging in the diagnostic work-up and monitoring of most cardiac diseases. Echocardiography is harmless and combines low-cost high technology with easy accessibility. The advent of the new modalities such as harmonic imaging, tissue Doppler imaging, speckle tracking, real time 3-dimensional imaging, ad contrast cavity enhancement have also contributed to expand the role of echocardiography. It provides rapid quantitative information about cardiac structure and function, valvular motion, vascular system and haemodynamics at bedside. This imaging technique is considered an extension of the physical examination. Proper technical skills and knowledge are required for the optimal application of echocardiography. Disease-focused and succinct, the present handbook covers the information needed to perform and interpret echocardiogramsaccurately, including how to set up the echomachine to optimize an examination and how to perform echocardiographic disease assessment, and the clinical indicators, procedures, and contraindications. Sections include assessment of the left ventricular systolic dysfunction and diastolic function, discussion on ischaemic heart disease, heart valve disease, cardiomyopathies, pericardial disease, congenital heart disease, and many other aspects of echocardiology. Many talented people have contributed to the present handbook, which represents the pocket echocardiography book flagship of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging. This book is intended principally as a clinical guide to the broad field of echocardiography at a glance.Less

Aimed specifically at the Knowledge-Based Assessment, Revision Notes for Cardiology provides the first clear and accessible revision resource created specifically for this new and compulsory examination. Each chapter exactly maps the core cardiology training curriculum, giving measurable assurance that the information provided is what test-takers need to pass. Each chapter is written by a senior cardiology trainee in collaboration with a senior consultant who has expertise in that specific field, ensuring that the content is authoritative and draws on the latest guidelines and documents. Concise, bullet-points in the layout allow easy access to and digestion of the key points, and numerous tables, boxes and figures make this the ideal accompaniment to retaining the large and varied amount of information needed to pass the examination.Less

Geriatric medicine: an evidence based approach is an online clinical reference for health care professionals who manage older patients, and summarizes up-to-date research literature in a style that can be directly applied by busy healthcare professionals and provide a useful resource for reference. Because people are living longer and the population over the age of 60 is burgeoning, there are repercussions for health services and healthcare expenditure in developed countries. This online resource covers disease aetiology, diagnosis, and treatment specific to older people, and how they differ from those of the general adult population. Additionally, it covers the complicated co-morbidities older people often have and how they respond to treatment in different ways compared to younger people. It also addresses how evidence of efficacy of different treatments is often lacking because older people are under-represented in clinical trials. Less

This resource offers theoretical and practical guidance for those planning, delivering, and receiving education and training in ever-changing healthcare environments. Themes covered include assessment, professionalism and medical regulation, educational standards, patients' expectations, Continuing Professional Development, leadership and management, the European Working Time Directive, Fitness to Practice, interprofessional learning, the development of the NHS workforce, equality and diversity, and ethical and legal issues.Less

This resource combines clearly written, practical text with over 200 illustrations and numerous flow charts which take the reader through the management of all the commonly encountered hepatobiliary and pancreatic pathologies and procedures. Less

Physician Communication: Connecting with Patients, Peers, and the Public presents the current world of physician communications, from face-to-face and digital communications to public speaking and traditional media. The book explores methods and explains guidelines of exceptional physician communication. Physician–patient communication is, after all, human-to-human communication; establishing a bond and listening are just two of the essential elements in building trust and understanding—the foundations of communication. But today there is much we need to learn when it comes to facilitating the exchange of information, providing psychosocial support, ensuring shared decision-making, translating complex information, resolving controversies with sound science, and the myriad of goals we have as physician communicators with patients, peers, and the public. While most of our communication is with patients, we increasingly find ourselves communicating with family members, caregivers, students, residents, colleagues, patient advocates, researchers, insurance agencies, bosses, board members, the public, and even at times journalists. What we are communicating, where we are communicating, and with whom we are communicating are continually changing and expanding—and with ever more electronic technologies available to us, from electronic medical records and emails to online forums, video conferencing, and other high-tech systems. All of this makes how well we communicate as physicians even more important to our success in today’s healthcare environment.Less

The Textbook of Palliative Care Communication is the authoritative text on communication in palliative care, providing a compilation of international and interdisciplinary perspectives. The volume was uniquely developed by an interdisciplinary editorial team to address an array of providers, including physicians, nurses, social workers, and chaplains, and unites clinicians and academic researchers interested in the study of communication. By featuring practical conversation and curriculum tools stemming from research, this text integrates scholarship and inquiry into translatable content that others can use to improve their practice, teach skills to others, and engage in patient-centered communication. The volume begins by defining communication, explicating debatable issues in research, and highlighting specific approaches to studying communication in a palliative care context. Chapters focus on health literacy and cultural communication; patient and family communication; barriers and approaches to discussing palliative care with specific patient populations; and discussing pain, life support, advance care planning, and quality of life topics such as sexuality, spirituality, hope, and grief. Team communication in various care settings is outlined, and current research and education for healthcare professionals are summarized. Unique to this volume are chapters on conducting communication research, both qualitatively and quantitatively, to promote further research in palliative care.Less

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a technique that delivers mild electrical currents across the intact surface of the skin to reduce pain. TENS is used by practitioners throughout the world to manage painful conditions and equipment can be purchased by the general public so that they can self-administer treatment. There are thousands of experimental and clinical research studies published on TENS and related techniques yet there is uncertainty about the best way to administer TENS in clinical practice, because currents used during TENS can be administered in a variety of ways and the findings of research studies have been inconclusive. This resource provides guidance on how best to use TENS based on an evaluation of current research evidence. It covers what TENS is, how it works, and safe and appropriate clinical techniques for many conditions including chronic low back pain, osteoarthritis and cancer pain. It also offers solutions to the problems faced by researchers when trying to design clinical trials on TENS.Less