• Andrew Rixon, Sascha Rixon, Hansel Addae-Bosomprah, Mingshuang Ding, and Anthony Bell.
• Babel Fish Group Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
• Emerg Med Australas. 2016 Aug 1; 28 (4): 404-11.

ObjectiveThe objective of the present study is to develop and pilot a communication and influencing skills training programme that meets ED health professionals' needs at an urban district hospital.MethodsQualitative methods within a participatory action research framework were utilised. An interdisciplinary team guided the programme's design and development. A training needs analysis saw team meetings, interviews, focus groups and observations conducted across the ED. Thematic analysis of the data identified health professionals' communication and influencing challenges. The training needs analysis informed the training programme curriculum's development. The pilot programme involved an interdisciplinary group of seven health professionals across 5 × 2 h sessions over 3 months, followed by a post-training survey.ResultsFive themes of communication and influencing challenges were identified: participating in effective handovers, involving patients in bedside handovers, effectively communicating with interdepartmental colleagues, asking ED colleagues to do tasks and understanding ED colleagues' roles, expectations and assumptions. Based on these challenges, the formulated RESPECT model (which stands for Relationships, Expectations, Styles, Partnerships, Enquiry, Coaching and Teamwork) informed the training curriculum. The peer coaching model used in the training programme was highly regarded by participants.ConclusionsCommunication and Influencing for ED Professionals™ (Babel Fish Group Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) addresses a gap for communication programmes developed in the ED for the ED. Future research will evaluate the programme's impact in this ED.© 2016 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.

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