Ann Fitzgerald Phd

HEALING Conversations Ann Fitzgerald Phd

A former nurse and healthcare executive, Ann Fitzgerald, PhD is a passionate advocate for caregivers, and for patients and their families. She brings keen insight into both perspectives as she sheds light on the healing process especially as impacted by conversations between caregiver and patient. Her poignant anecdotes reveal the great opportunity healthcare professionals have to make a difference. She builds the case that there is the potential for great harm if communications are allowed to break down between the medical community and the patients and families they serve. She advocates for richer conversations and contends that both the healthcare experience and the healing process will improve as a result. Fitzgerald offers her CLEAR communications model for engaging in healing conversations. She then suggests eight conversational topics important to patients and families. She outlines five key ways that caregivers can improve their interactions, and advises caregivers on five critical practices they need to help their patients use in order to contribute and be "heard." HEALING Conversations is an excellent resource for all healthcare professionals and students as they interact directly with patients and their families.