Communication

Communicating With Empathy

A practical course in recognising patient concerns, reducing anxiety, explaining treatment clearly, and managing difficult conversations.

  • 1 credit
  • Online, self-paced
  • Dr Nouman Waheed

What you’ll learn

  • Recognise what a patient is feeling behind what they say
  • Open consultations in a way that lowers patient anxiety
  • Respond to fear, embarrassment, and hesitation without defensiveness
  • Explain treatment options in plain language patients can weigh up
  • Close a consultation so the patient knows the next step
  • Recover a conversation that is going badly

About this course

A practical course in recognising patient concerns, reducing anxiety, explaining treatment clearly, and managing difficult conversations.

Curriculum

  1. Why empathy is a clinical skill What communication means for consent, complaints, and patient trust
  2. Reading the patient Listening for the feeling behind the words, and checking you heard right
  3. Language that lands Replacing jargon with explanations patients can repeat back
  4. Difficult conversations Fear, cost, and bad news: a structure for staying calm
  5. Practice and reflection Scenarios to work through, and a habit for improving after each clinic

Who this course is for

  • Dentists who want calmer, more cooperative consultations
  • Recently qualified clinicians building confidence with patients
  • Hygienists and therapists who give advice patients resist
  • Practice owners who want a consistent standard of patient communication

Your instructor

Dr Nouman Waheed