Pretend placements: simulation is as good as the real thing

Clinical placements are now, more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, a huge time and personnel commitment. Recently, allied health students have had huge changes to their placements, often undertaking them entirely remotely. This article describes a novel method of...

More difficult than meets the eye: learning to use communication skills

People with communication difficulties are more at risk of accidents and mistreatments than others. Addressing the skills of the communication partners (the medical professionals) is one way of tackling this issue. This study describes innovations in training for fourth year...

It’s not just about academic education for teenagers with TBI

Research has shown that many traumatic brain injuries are sustained before the age of 25. This article aims to examine the need for speech and language support for students with traumatic brain injury (TBI) beyond the issues a student may...

Positive practical communication skills for medics

Communication training for medical students generally focuses on communicating with unimpaired individuals. This article describes how a speech and language therapy department at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden trialled a new approach to teaching medical students. Fifty-nine undergraduate medical...