Thursday 11 June & Monday 22 June 2026 – 08:00-11:30 BST(UK) / 09:00-12:30 CEST each day (2 half days)

An interactive two-module live online course focusing on the content of clinical communication skills teaching: core communication skills, structure of the healthcare encounters and adapting skills to different clinical situations and contexts.

The course is designed for:

• Early-career teachers of clinical communication skills
• Teachers, who wish to revisit the content of their communication skills teaching
• Communication skills curriculum developers
• Specialists involved in training communication teachers

As a result of the course, participants will be able to:

• Define the individual specific skills of effective clinical communication
• Break down the complex task of a clinical interview into its individual components
• Choose or produce a model of communication that best suits their teaching needs

Detailed program

The course will include 4 main content areas:

Communication skills teaching: scope and focus

• discussing the needs and challenges of communication skills teachers
• reflecting on what exactly it is that we want to teach
• identifying types of communication skills and how they can be taught

Models of communication

• exploring different ways to conceptualize clinical communication
• introduce the concepts of structure, objectives and skills that are the basis of the widely used communication models
• practice spotting individual skills in recorded consultations

 Core communication skills

• clarifying the objectives of different parts of the clinical interview
• identifying the appropriate content of a clinical encounter
• spotting skills of information gathering and information giving in video recordings of consultations

Challenging situations

In this section, we will:

• discuss how core communication skills can be used in specific situations
• analyze videos of challenging situations (bad news delivery, strong emotions)
• reflect on ways to integrate structure, objectives and specific situations in communication skills teaching

Course Facilitators:  Mandy Williams and Sandra Winterburn

Independent Coach/Trainer. Mandy Williams, RGN, Dip Coaching, MSC, PGCE. 

Mandy worked as a Senior Tutor in Clinical Communication Skills at the School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge University Hospitals Trust (CUHT) from 2009 to 2023, she continues to contribute to the undergraduate curriculum.                             Mandy also works as an Independent Coach/Trainer providing one to one coaching and exam support for post graduate trainees and delivering a range of training courses such as; Advanced Communication Skills: Training Train the Trainers courses for (EACH); the Goals of Care courses which helps clinicians develop the key communication skills to discuss serious illness and ceilings of care. Mandy also has a clinical background in Palliative and End of life care.

Associate Prof. Sandra Winterburn, (Emeritus) RGN, RMN, MSC, PGCE.
Sandra worked as the Academic lead for Undergraduate Clinical Communication at Norwich Medical School (NMS) from 2012 to 2024. On leaving her post the University of East Anglia (UEA) she was awarded Emeritus status and continues to contribute to the undergraduate curriculum.
Sandra also works as an Independent Trainer / Consultant delivering a range of post graduate training courses such as; Advanced Communication Skills: Training Train the Trainers courses for (EACH); the Goals of Care courses which helps clinicians develop the key communication skills to discuss serious illness and ceilings of care. Sandra has a clinical background as a clinical nurse specialist in Palliative and End of life care.
She has built up wide-ranging experience in developing faculty to teach clinical communication effectively and has been fortunate to work internationally in countries such as Thailand, Russia and across Europe.

Member £250  /  Non-member £300

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