Laura Chien is a PhD candidate in Linguistics supervised by Dr Mary Dahm. Her research investigates the communication of diagnostic uncertainty in emergency care from the perspective of patients and caregivers experiencing real-world diagnostic uncertainty. Laura’s research aims to shed light on patient and caregiver expectations about diagnosis and the communication of uncertainty and how patients and caregivers communicate about uncertainty as they navigate their diagnostic journey, with potential to enhance diagnostic excellence in the high-stakes ED environment.

Since joining the ANU Institute for Communication in Health Care in 2020, Laura has developed expertise in qualitative methods to conduct health communication research in hospital settings. She has collaborated on translational projects on communication during nursing clinical handovers and end-of-life conversations. Laura is currently working with Dr Mary Dahm, ARC DECRA Fellow, on her project ‘Addressing the challenge of communicating uncertainty in diagnosis’ which examines the critical role and impact of communication on the diagnostic process in health settings.