The European Association for Communication in Healthcare (EACH) organised the 12th International Conference on Communication in Healthcare (ICCH) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. From the 28th of September to the 1st of October 2014, people from all over the world came together for what was a wonderful conference.
“A conference during which interaction and exchange among participants is fostered and encouraged [Conference website].”
It is impossible to capture four days of overwhelming positive experiences, knowledge sharing and enriching discussion. Kicking off the conference with a day of preconference workshops set the trend. A workshop on ‘Express rather than impress’ gave special attention to early career researchers and the challenges they are facing. Keynotes focussing on empathy in animals and humans, shared decision making, patient-centred communication and serious gaming showed further the diverse range of topics and issues that the field of ‘communication in healthcare’ entails. One of the things that distinguish the ICCH from other conferences is the unique mix of a focus on teaching as well as on research. Various topics in the program were proof of this with sessions on ‘teaching communication skills’, ‘shared decision making’, ‘diversity’, ‘professional behaviour’, etc. Moreover, a growing interest in ‘technology and communication’ was represented in the conference programme. Having four sessions specifically devoted to this topic, alongside related presentations in other sessions and posters emphasised this.
As Jonathan Silverman put it: “Communication in healthcare is a topic that deserves a strong organisation. An organisation that provides doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, dentists, psychologist, etc. with an academic home, a place to go to for advice whether it is with regard to teaching or research”. Although the progress in the standard of communication in the real world can be disappointingly slow, EACH – together with the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare (AACH) – certainly finds itself in a strong position to help moving this field forward.
“EACH is an interdisciplinary non-profit organisation which brings together researchers and trainers in the field of communication in healthcare [EACH website].”
Saying this was a successful conference would be an understatement. ICCH has left a big impression, and brought me into contact with people from all over the world in a way that I had not experienced before!
