The Centre for Communication in Health Care focuses on English training for professionals in health and social care. Our courses assist participants in communicating effectively in their work context and in personal contact with colleagues.

More than 20 years of experience form the basis for our programmes. We offer couses in Frankfurt, Germany and in cooperation with institutions in other parts of the country. Study trips to England and the USA (and many other countries) have been a part of the programme for many years.

The founder of the Centre is Yvonne Ford. She was born in the USA, attended university there and in England. She is trained in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
Here are some of the programmes that we offer:

Communicating with patients in hospital

This 5-day intensive course is open to all professionals in health care who work intensively with patients: nurses, doctors, midwives, physiotherapists, social workers. (The course is not designed for professionals who only see their patients once and for short periods of time.)

You will learn the words and expressions that patients use to describe their normal health condition and the symptoms they have. In addition, you learn how to ask questions in order to understand the development of the symptoms and how the health problems now affect the patient.

You will also learn how to explain procedures, examination and care of the patient so that the patient can understand what is planned. Discussion of problems and their treatment options are integrated in the course.

The course is limited to a small group of 6 - 12 persons so learning is effective for each one. Inter-disciplinary communication is one of the benefits of the course.

Individual lessons

Often individual lessons are the most effective way to learn for your special field of work. Yvonne Ford has taught doctors, nurses, midwives, social workers, university lecturers and others in private lessons for many years. One-to one lessons give you the freedom to decide what you want to learn and gives you the undivided attention of a professional teacher who can assist you with vocabulary, fluency, and style of oral and written communication.

Special preparation for poster presentations or lectures at congresses is also possible. Preparation and practice for job interviews can also be scheduled.

Learning at a distance

If you live too far from Frankfurt to attend a course regularly, it is also possible to take part in distance learning. This form of learning is based on regular phone conversations of 30 minutes. Notes are made during the conversation; these notes are then sent to you with corrections of words, sentence structure and grammar so that you can see your mistakes. In addition, you are given assignments to complete in the time between phone conversations. Just as in one-to-one lessons in our Centre, you can determine the focus of the lessons.

Translation and editing of texts

We offer qualified, high-quality translation of abstracts, articles and presentations from German into English. In addition, we provide correction and editing assistance of texts already written in English.

Payment for these services is usually based on an hourly rate and not on a price-per-line.

Since translation is not our primary business, it is important that you give us advance notice of your translation needs and that you allow for adequate time to finish the project.

English for academic purposes

Nearly all courses of study at university require fluency in spoken English and ability to handle academic material in journals, books and internet. We offer training in learning to read English texts quickly and effectively, and to be able to use the material in group discussions or presentation. We also offer assistance with translation of text excerpts from English to German. Another element of the course is learning to be effective in oral communication and to avoid "typical" mistakes in speaking English.

Cultural-sensitive healthcare

We offer courses in culture-sensitive healthcare in order to help doctors and nurses learn to anticipate the needs that patients from other nationalities, religions and cultures may have. This cultural training is beneficial to professionals working here in Germany and to those who want to go to work in another country.

We offer special information for people who want to work in the USA. This information can help you adjust to the American culture and find your place in the American health care system. Learning what hospitals expect of nurses helps with adjustment to a new job and helps prevent problems from developing.