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In 2017, EACH celebrated its change of name from European Association for Communication in Healthcare to EACH: International Association for Communication in Healthcare. This paper aims to present the developments and achievements of EACH over the past five years with a focus on its mission in promoting and advancing the field of communication in healthcare. Specifically, the paper focuses on how EACH, first, promotes research in the field of health communication, second, provides support, resources and sharing for healthcare communication teachers and, third, aims at influencing policy through dissemination of evidence. This paper also explores future challenges and directions for EACH to further strengthen its impact by designing activities in knowledge transfer and knowledge dissemination, engaging with patients and truly benefitting from their expertise, fostering active participation and networking among its members, targeting interventions to the needs of different countries around the world and refining knowledge-sharing and cooperation both within the membership of EACH and outside the association to as wide an audience as possible. Scholars, educators and practitioners active in the field of healthcare communication are invited to comment on this paper and to actively contribute towards the goals of EACH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patient evaluations of physician communication are widely used, but we know little about how these relate to professionally agreed norms of communication quality. We report an investigation into the association between patient assessments of communication quality and an observer-rated measure of communication competence. Consent was obtained to video record consultations with Family Practitioners in England, following which patients rated the physician's communication skills. A sample of consultation videos was subsequently evaluated by trained clinical raters using an instrument derived from the Calgary-Cambridge guide to the medical interview. Consultations scored highly for communication by clinical raters were also scored highly by patients. However, when clinical raters judged communication to be of lower quality, patient scores ranged from "poor" to "very good." Some patients may be inhibited from rating poor communication negatively. Patient evaluations can be useful for measuring relative performance of physicians' communication skills, but absolute scores should be interpreted with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although peer-review for journal submission, grant-applications and conference submissions has been called 'a counter- stone of science', and even 'the gold standard for evaluating scientific merit', publications on this topic remain scares. Research that has investigated peer-review reveals several issues and criticisms concerning bias, poor quality review, unreliability and inefficiency. The most important weakness of the peer review process is the inconsistency between reviewers leading to inadequate inter-rater reliability.Aim Of the Paper: To report the reliability of ratings for a large international conference and to suggest possible solutions to overcome the problem.Methods: In 2016 during the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare, organized by EACH: International Association for Communication in Healthcare, a calibration exercise was proposed and feedback was reported back to the participants of the exercise.Results: Most abstracts, as well as most peer-reviewers, receive and give scores around the median. Contrary to the general assumption that there are high and low scorers, in this group only 3 peer-reviewers could be identified with a high mean, while 7 has a low mean score. Only 2 reviewers gave only high ratings (4 and 5). Of the eight abstracts included in this exercise, only one abstract received a high mean score and one a low mean score. Nevertheless, both these abstracts received both low and high scores; all other abstracts received all possible scores.Discussion: Peer-review of submissions for conferences are, in accordance with the literature, unreliable. New and creative methods will be needed to give the participants of a conference what they really deserve: a more reliable selection of the best abstracts.Practice Implications: More raters per abstract improves the inter-rater reliability; training of reviewers could be helpful; providing feedback to reviewers can lead to less inter-rater disagreement; fostering negative peer-review (rejecting the inappropriate submissions) rather than a positive (accepting the best) could be fruitful for selecting abstracts for conferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the content validity, internal consistency and generalisability of EPSCALE, a new rating scale to measure communication skills in explanation and planning. Methods: Content validity: consensus exercise and expert review. Internal consistency and generalisability: 124 clinical students undertaking 4 OSCE stations with simulated patients, with one observer (hospital specialist, GP or communication specialist) per station, during finals examinations. Internal consistency estimated by coefficient alpha, generalisability estimated by generalisability coefficient and variance components using EPSCALE. Results: Content validity was supported by consensus exercise and expert review. Internal consistency was high with a coefficient alpha of greater than 0.8 for all four explanation and planning stations in the finals exam. Generalisability coefficient for 4 OSCE stations was 0.50. Conclusions: This paper provides initial evidence that EPSCALE has content validity and high internal consistency when used to assess explanation and planning skills in the consultation. It defines the generalisability of this new rating scale. Further work is needed to explore the scale''s validity by a range of other measures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This plenary presentation from the EACH International Conference on Communication in Healthcare in Oslo 2008, takes an honest look at the present state of communication teaching and considers how to take the next steps to move communication into the very centre of medical education. Although clinical communication teaching has become increasingly accepted as a formal component of the medical curriculum, there is still a problem to be faced. Communication still often appears in medical education to be a peripheral element rather than a mainstream activity truly perceived by schools and learners as central to all clinical interactions. This presentation explores why clinical communication often appears to be a minority sport in medical education, considers how to overcome this via integration throughout the curriculum, looks at five specific examples of integration in action, presents a new UK consensus statement which helps integrate communication into the mainstream, and finally explores the progression to maturity in communication curricula. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Context The teaching and assessment of clinical communication have become central components of undergraduate medical education in the UK. This paper recommends the key content for an undergraduate communication curriculum. Designed by UK educationalists with UK schools in mind, the recommendations are equally applicable to communication curricula throughout the world. Objectives This paper is intended to assist curriculum planners in the design, implementation and review of medical communication curricula. The document will also be useful in the education of other health care professionals. Designed for undergraduate education, the consensus statement also provides a baseline for further professional development. Methods The consensus statement, based on strong theoretical and research evidence, was developed by an iterative process of discussion between communication skills leads from all 33 UK medical schools conducted under the auspices of the UK Council of Clinical Communication Skills Teaching in Undergraduate Medical Education. Discussion How this framework is used will inevitably be at the discretion of each medical school and its implementation will be determined by different course designs. Although we believe students should be exposed to all the areas described, it would be impractical to set inflexible competency levels as these may be attained at different stages which are highly school-dependent. However, the framework will enable all schools to consider where different elements are addressed, where gaps exist and how to generate novel combinations of domains within the communication curriculum. It is hoped that this consensus statement will support the development and integration of teaching, learning and assessment of clinical communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the complexities of the relationship between simulation and clinical practice in medical education. Likelihood of good practice taught in units to be undermined by less than ideal current practice in the real world; Need of simulated learning to be integrated with other clinical skills and real life practice; Emphasis on the need of communication training to incorporate throughout the postgraduate years.

Comments on the need to teach communication skills to medical students. Need for medical students to improve their communication skills with patients and family members; Need to improve the methods of teaching of communication; Need for evaluation and research on effective teaching methods.

Objective: To provide a platform for learners' voices at an international conference on communication in healthcare.Methods: A group of medical students were invited to explore their experiences with communication skills learning at a symposium at the 2016 International Conference on Communication in Healthcare in Heidelberg, DE.Results: Students from the US, Denmark, Germany, and Russia discussed their experiences with communication skills curriculum at their institutions. We identified divides that have challenged our ability to develop and maintain strong communication skills: 1) valuation of communication skills vs. other topics, 2) curricular theory vs. practice, 3) evaluation vs. feedback, 4) preclinical vs. clinical learning, and 5) the medical student vs. practicing clinician role.Conclusion: The points of transition we identified on the road of communication skills teaching highlight opportunities to strengthen the educational experience for students. Without an effort to address these divides, however, our communication skills may be lost in translation.Practice Implications: Students value communication skills teaching during their medical education and there are opportunities to translate this to countries that currently lack robust curricula and to the real-life post-graduate setting. Support is necessary from students, teachers, and administrators, and focus on translation of skills during role transitions is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To describe a program with integrated learning of communication and consultation skills developed with the intention of preventing deterioration of communication skills, and to present student evaluation data. Methods: Description and evaluation of the program through: (1) monthly student evaluations; (2) questionnaire on student perceptions about the integrated curriculum; (3) a questionnaire about the value of one specific integrated training preceding the pediatric clerkship. Results: Key components of training throughout years 3–6 are reinforcement throughout the clinical years, adapting communication training to the clinical context of clerkships using a sandwich model with cycles of preparation, clerkship, and reflection. Evaluation: response rates were 69%, 93% and 93%, respectively. Students value practicing integration of communication and medical content with SPs who represent the population of their next clerkships. They appreciate the multisource feedback during the training, feedback by clerkship specific specialists and SPs is valued most. Conclusions: This description shows an example of an integrated curriculum that helps students to feel well prepared for their communication tasks in subsequent clerkships. Practice implications: Designing and implementing communication curricula to address the issue of integration is feasible. The effects of such integrated programs should be subject to future studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]