The Communications Course two-day workshop is suitable for the purposes of training and assessment for the College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand. The following online reading component is intended as a basic introduction prior to attending the Communications Course workshop and does not replace wider reading and experiential learning.

The online course will:

• general concepts to improve the way we communicate with families of critically ill patients, including interacting with culturally diverse groups and using interpreters
• key communication micro-skills, such as using silence, open-ended questions and signposting
• frameworks for conducting the most frequent types of family meetings including breaking bad news, shared decision making and open disclosure
• frameworks for some of the difficult conversations we have with colleagues including giving feedback, negotiating treatment plans and speaking up when things are not right

All trainees who registered after January 1^st, 2014 are required to complete this course.