‘I first became aware of Healthtalkonline when the clips were shown in lectures. I gained helpful insights from the mixture of different examples (both positive and negative) of health professionals’ communication with patients. I intend to carry those lessons with me when I start my rotations as a junior doctor.

I also found the site very useful when I was preparing for my final clinical exams (OSCEs). I watched the video interviews of people with neurological conditions to help me understand the symptoms and be able to spot them in a patient.’

Case study: Cancer care

Dr. Verna Lavender is a Senior Lecturer who runs post-qualifying cancer care and palliative care courses at Oxford Brookes University, UK.

‘I refer students to Healthtalkonline as an information resource. In one module – Essentials of Cancer Care – I have a timetabled session about finding information for cancer patients on the internet. During this session I visit the site with the students in the classroom. Many of the students think Healthtalkonline is a valuable resource, and think that they would direct patients to the cancer webpages of Healthtalkonline, especially those with lots of questions about what others think and feel about their cancer and cancer treatment. The students find these patient experience sessions extremely valuable.’