Laura Palomino, our new PhD student, is joining our research group with an FPI scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. 

In Laura's case, her scholarship is associated with the research project titled "When communicative effectiveness can impact health: Perceptions about doctor-patient communication and strategies to improve communication", supervised by Dr. Rodero and Dr. Okan. Her doctoral thesis will focus on understanding these perceptions and strategies to enhance doctor-patient communication. 

Laura is a psychologist from Universidad del Rosario in Colombia and holds dual degrees from the University of Bologna in Italy. She holds a master's degree in Third-Generation Psychological Therapies from the International University of Valencia (VIU) and is certified in EMDR trauma therapy. She has ten years of experience in clinical patient care and has been involved in developing protocols for delivering bad news in the hospital sector. It is essential for her to make it clear that communication between a healthcare professional and their patient can make a significant difference in treatment outcomes.

By joining our research group, Laura is interested in investigating the effectiveness of communication in the doctor-patient relationship, understanding how this relationship unfolds, and what functional strategies can be applied to make this bond beneficial to people's health.