**Part 7**

**Enhancing Patient Care in RT** 

338 Modern Practices in Radiation Therapy

Taylor M L, Franich R D, Johnston P N, Millar R M and Trapp J V. (2007) Systematic

R. B. Foist, H. G. Schulze, A. Jirasek, A. Ivanov, and R. F. B. T. Turner. A Matrix-Based Two-

deviations from water equivalence. Phys. Med. Bio, 52, 3991-4005.

variations in polymer gel dosimeter calibration due to container influence and

Dimensional Regularization Algorithm for Signal-to-Noise Ratio Enhancement of Multidimensional Spec- tral Data. Applied Spectroscopy, 64(11):1209–1219, Oct. 2010.

**19** 

*Ireland* 

**Information and Support for Patients** 

*Discipline of Radiation Therapy, School of Medicine, Trinity College, Dublin,* 

Communication is integral to all human interaction. Effective communication is a skill required by all members of the radiotherapy team in order to provide the best care to patients. However, it is an area of practice frequently overlooked amidst all of the technological advances in radiotherapy. This chapter aims to give an overview of the theories and models which underpin communication and then focuses on interactions within the radiotherapy department and how these impact on patient care. There is a particular focus on communication with older patients, children and adolescents-patient groups who can easily be overlooked in the information giving process. The chapter ends with a series of typically presenting patients to the radiotherapy department and invites the reader to consider how they might provide information and support to such patients.

Capella (1) suggests that there are five steps involved in effective communication:

location or setting of the communication can impact on this significantly.

*Transmission:* Information passing from one individual and assumes that the

*Exchange:* During communication, there is an exchange of words, gestures and images,

 *Generation of meaning:* Certain words and phrases, as well as other methods of communication have specific meaning in certain cultures or within particular groups of

*Context:* Effective communication must be given within the context of the situation. The

*Discourse.* The message communicated will be within the scope of a recognised format,

A model of communication explains how the communication process actually works in practice; how does the intended message to be communicated actually reach its destination?

**1. Introduction** 

**2. Theories of communication** 

usually termed 'interaction'.

**3. Models of communication** 

people.

information will be received by another.

this is known as the discursive context.

**Throughout the Radiation Therapy** 

 **Treatment Pathway** 

Michelle Leech and Mary Coffey
