English and Reflective Writing Skills in Medicine: A Guide for Medical Students and Doctors / Edition 1

by Clive Handler, Charlotte Handler, Deborah Gill

Overview

Reflective writing is an established and integral part of undergraduate medical curricula, and also features in postgraduate medical education and revalidation. This book guides and teaches medical students - and all medical and paramedical staff - through the process of writing reflective essays and less formal reflective pieces clearly, concisely, and accurately. Sections on English writing skills, alongside anonymised successful and unsuccessful examples of reflected essays, explore both the principles and practice of effective writing. This clear, practical book is a valuable resource for medical undergraduates and postgraduates, whether English be their first or an additional language.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781846194627
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/01/2011
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Clive Handler, Charlotte Handler, Deborah Gill

Table of Contents

34 reflective medical essays, each of which is proceeded by a stylistic and linguistic analysis written by the editors

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Paul J Casella, MFA, AB (University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine)
Description: This engaging and interactive book reviews qualities of good written communication and introduces the concept of reflective writing, a form of mental processing undertaken to help individuals understand complex events and situations and their approach to them. In the words of physician-author Abraham Verghese: "I write to figure out what I was thinking at the time." The bulk of the book offers original examples of reflective writing, discusses strengths and weaknesses of those examples, and suggests how each piece may be revised to be more effective and memorable to readers.
Purpose: The purpose is to show the ways reflective writing can be used, and how clarity, logic, and reasoning in a written piece influence the reader's understanding. These are worthy objectives given the onslaught of information in medicine and the necessity for students and clinicians to recognize how their emotions influence their thought processes and their approach to clinical situations. The book meets its objectives well and provides a good range of examples.
Audience: Medical students and physicians are the intended audience, although healthcare students and providers of all levels and disciplines would benefit from the reflective writing strategies the book discusses. The authors include a physician, a teacher of English, and an expert in medical education, a perfect combination of expertise and perspective for the topic.
Features: The book begins with an introduction to reflective writing and a discussion of the rationale behind its use. It then reviews the different elements of effective writing, walking readers through many examples with commentary about the role of reflection in each piece, as well as what was done well and what could have been improved, and how. It also presents short examples of original and amended versions of certain segments of the writing. Toward the end, the book engages readers by having them fill in the strengths and areas for improvement in particular pieces of reflective writing.
Assessment: This is an empowering book that students and clinicians will find helpful in understanding themselves and how they think about their roles and their effectiveness in delivering healthcare. More importantly, the reflection and writing skills taught in this book are ones that readers can translate to many aspects of their careers to gain a greater understanding of their approach to their work and to bring meaning to their interactions with patients and coworkers.

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