Robyn Woodward-Kron

Professor Robyn Woodward-Kron is Professor in Healthcare Communication in the Department of Medical Education at Melbourne Medical School, within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She holds a BA, MA, MA, and PhD, and serves as Director of Research Training in her department as well as lead of the Healthcare Communication research group. Her research investigates language and communication in healthcare and health professional education, including health professional-patient interactions, interprofessional and intraprofessional communication, medical learner discourses, communication for culturally and linguistically diverse populations, interpreter-mediated assessments, and medication management across transitions of care. Woodward-Kron's work aims to inform health professional education curricula and practices to enhance communication effectiveness and patient outcomes.

With a long-standing career at the University of Melbourne, starting from roles such as lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine's International Student Support Program, she has published extensively on these topics. Key publications include 'The work performed through interprofessional meeting discourse: an observational study' (2024, Journal of Interprofessional Care), 'Decision-making about changing medications across transitions of care: Opportunities for enhanced patient and family engagement' (2024, Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy), 'Emotions and team communication in the operating room: a scoping review' (2023, Advances in Health Sciences Education), 'Communication in interprofessional rehabilitation teams: a scoping review' (2020, Disability and Rehabilitation), 'A review of approaches to improve participation of culturally and linguistically diverse populations in clinical trials' (2016, Trials), and 'Supporting medical students to support peers: a qualitative interview study' (2022, BMC Medical Education). Her scholarship has accumulated over 3,792 citations on Google Scholar. Additional contributions encompass the development of 'Doctors Speak Up,' an evidence-based open-access resource for international medical graduates' communication skills, membership on the editorial board of Communication & Medicine, and plenary presentations such as at COMET 2022 on learning healthcare through interaction from a language perspective.

Professional Email: robynwk@unimelb.edu.au