COMET conference 25th – 27th June, Birmingham UK

Jean participated in the international communication, medicine, and ethics conference in Birmingham, UK. The interdisciplinary conference brings together linguists, ethicists, health practitioners, and other social scientists to discuss issues related to healthcare communication and ethics. The first plenary speaker, Prof Helen Stockes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (UK), discussed with us the challenges and opportunities for practicing person-centred medicine in the tech age. Jean presented on decision-making trajectories within genetic consultations. She was also a presenter in a session about healthcare communication within a paediatric context where speakers discussed issues such as ethical considerations when using children in patient simulation training, and innovative methods to engage with children in research about preparation for x-rays. In her talk, she was able to outline plans for the ‘child voice’ work package of our project. Her topic described and workshopped an approach to linguistically analysing interactions between children and healthcare providers.