Communication Skills in Health and Social Care, 2nd Edition

Bernard Moss
Sage, London (2012)
248 pp. A$57.99
ISBN: 9781446208199

Teaching predominantly into a rehabilitation counselling major of a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree, I find that Professor Bernard Moss’ book will be an invaluable resource and tool for teaching and learning in the classroom and beyond, particularly as my students transition into the workforce via a participatory field placement subject. The dictionary-like format is easy to use and allows the reader to dip into sections of interest rather than proceeding linearly from cover to cover. There is a laudable breadth to the coverage of 42 important topics ranging from ‘Acceptance’ to ‘Wrong Messages’. New entries to this second edition include ‘Assertiveness’, ‘Emotional Intelligence’, ‘Groupwork’, ‘Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)’, and ‘Interprofessional Collaboration’.

Simultaneously, there is an admirable depth to each subject area. Professor Moss clearly demonstrates his extensive knowledge, both theoretical and practical, by applying his guiding principles of communication skills in creating an accessible, engaging, interesting and, most importantly, an extremely useful handbook of discussions and practical exercises that is accompanied with directions for further reading. As Professor Neil Thompson argues in the Foreword, Professor Moss has finely combined theory-based analyses and arguments with practical strategies to create a text that is part dictionary and part technical handbook. There are few books available that achieve this integrative approach, and fewer still that do so to such an excellent standard.

As an Emeritus Professor of Social Work and Education and Spirituality at Staffordshire University and Senior Fellow and National Teaching Fellow at The Higher Education Academy in the United Kingdom, Professor Moss is a highly respected teacher, writer and practitioner. Professor Moss has clearly marshalled his formidable skills and abilities, developed over an illustrious career, in preparing an excellent text that is impressive in its scope and reach, and that is of high value for its practicality. Professor Moss has written a clear, concise, thoughtful and insightful collection of interlinked entries. The book itself is a prime demonstration of the value of excellent communication skills.

I highly recommend this book to students, teachers and practitioners alike; it is a practical, useful and highly useable handbook that can be so very readily called on. A must read!

James Canty
Department of Community Health
School of Public Health and Human Biosciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
La Trobe University
Melbourne