"What a precious addition to my bookshelf! Both tyro and pro will find tips and tricks here for the very things that no one formally teaches. I only wish a book like this had been around when I was beginning in medicine. I'd like to put a copy in the hands of all my students and housestaff."

--Abraham Verghese, M.D., author of My Own Country and The Tennis Partner

"Rich with examples, this book is timely and up-to-date. The authors bring great experience, talent, and creativity to their material."

--Steven Schwaitzberg, New England Medical Center, Tufts University

Yale University Press Web Site, September, 2002

Strong communication skills are required of today's health care practitioners. Medical writers, medical students, residents and postdoctoral associates, physicians, biomedical researchers, nurses, pharmacists, and others in the allied health professions must develop and continue to improve their communication skills if they aspire to excellence in the medical and biological sciences. This book--a guide that belongs in the personal library of every health care professional--brims with practical advice on a broad range of essential medical communication skills.

The volume opens with an examination of how to organize the complex technical data encountered in clinics and the scientific literature. Next the book discusses the publication and presentation tasks that health care practitioners face, in particular the journal article, the grant, the conference poster, and the curriculum vitae. The third section of the volume explores teaching medicine and the problem-based record, and the final section deals with timely topics in the business of health care, including customer service, practice-building in competitive markets, meetings skills, and business writing. Easy-to-read and wide ranging, this book is the ideal communication primer for everyone in the health care field.

The authors are all experts in the field of health communications. Among their areas of expertise are public relations, medical editing and writing, teaching advanced writing and speaking skills, multicultural communication, collaborative adult learning, grant writing, management, and medical statistics.

Stephanie Barnard owns Business Image Consulting, Inc., a public relations firm. Paul J. Casella is trainer and consultant to the faculty at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. Catherine Coffin is communication consultant and trainer for ArcMesa Educators. Kirk T. Hughes is a communication consultant specializing in medical writing, seminar design, presentation skills, and teacher training. J. Willis Hurst is Candler Professor Emeritus and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. He is author or editor of more than 60 books. Janet S. Rasey is professor of radiation oncology and director of research funding service at the University of Washington Medical Center. Renee J. Robillard is the owner of a medical communication consulting firm. Deborah St. James is vice president of continuing education at ArcMesa Educators. Steven C. Ullery works in the Medical Products Division of W. L. Gore & Associates.