Much awaited book on communications for MBBS and PG medicos released

New Delhi: Addressing the important issue of communication by medical professionals, a new book titled " Fundamentals of Clinical Communication" has recently been released.

The book which has been published by Arya Publications, has been authored by Dr Indu Arneja (Psychologist, Professor, Communication skills trainer, Founder Director - Indian Institute of Healthcare Communication) and Dr Pawanindra Lal ( MS, DNB, FIMSA, FCLS, FRCSEd, FRCS Glasg, FRCSEng, FRCS Irel, FACS, FAMS ), the Director, Professor and Head of the Department of Surgery at Maulana Azad Medical College (University of Delhi).

The book was recently launched by Sh. Rajesh Bhushan, IAS Secretary Health, Govt of India.

Communications is a growingly important yet a still neglected aspect in medical education. Recognizing the importance of communications in a healthy doctor patient relationship, the Medical Council of India (MCI) now the National Medical Commission also included a special module on AETCOM (Attitude, Ethics, and communication) module in its revised syllabus.

However, till now there was been a severe lack of guideline in the teaching pedagogy on how to address the various aspects of Clinical Communication.

"The book as the title suggests, lay down the  'Fundamentals of Clinical Communications' for the ideal doctor patient conversation to attain optimal history for arriving at diagnosis. Communication is the bedrock that supports the transformation of an intern to a medical professional. We hope this book will act as a starting point for not just young doctors and medical students, on the basic lessons of communications with patients but also to other doctors who are conciously working on improving doctor patient communications," said Dr Lal, author of the book

An interesting forward to the book has been penned down by Dr. Vinod Paul, Chairman Niti Ayog.

"Communication is one of the founding pillars on which the art and practice of clinical medicine stands. Its importance cannot be overemphasized, as on one hand, effective communication is the only means for obtaining optional optimal history for arriving at a diagnosis and, on the other patient/care givers, communication is the bedrock on which the whole continuum of transformation of an intern to a mature health professional happens, spanning over a one's lifetime," notes the Foreword penned down by the Dr. Vinod Paul, the former chairman of MCI Board of Governors.

Being a passionate teacher, academic and ardent researcher, Prof Lal is well known for his surgical and laparoscopic skills and spontaneous teaching. He also  founded the Clinical Skills Centre at MAMC in 2006, which became the model site for other medical colleges to follow and started communications skills courses in 2014 for MBBS students and extended them for the postgraduates as well.

Prof Lal is a recipient of several national awards in the form of the Delhi State Health Award & Dr. B C Roy National Award and International Awards including Guest Scholarship of the American College of Surgeons and College Overseas Award of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburg.

Working thoroughly with medical students, practitioners, and other healthcare professionals, Dr. Arneja has conducted over 1500 programs on healthcare communication for about 50,000 healthcare professionals. In addition, she is associated with several medical colleges and has conducted over 100 hands-on training workshops.

To create a pool of trainers, she is conducting multiple online and offline 'Train-the-trainer programs' on Healthcare communication and invites all to join the mission. Dr. Arneja enjoys sharing her learnings with her audience through You tube on mental health-related topics.