Abstract
Background. Breaking bad news is 1 of cancer specialists’ most common and difficult duties, yet hematology-oncology fellowship programs typically offer little formal preparation for this daunting task. We designed the Breaking Bad News Standardized Patient Intervention (BBNSPI) as a standardized patient educational intervention to improve the communication skills of hematology-oncology fellows (HOFs) and advanced practice nurses (APNs) in breaking bad news to cancer patients. Methods. A total of 6 HOFs and 2 APNs participated in the preintervention test and an educational session designed to improve communication skills. A total of 5 HOFs and 1 APN participated in the postintervention test 1 week later. Results. The average test score of the participants improved from 56.6% in the preintervention test to 68.8% (P<.005) in the postintervention test. The preintervention perception survey showed that 2 of 6 subjects (33%) expected the intervention to improve their communication skills in breaking bad news compared to 5 of 6 subjects (83%) in the postintervention survey (P<.08). The long-term intervention perception survey showed that all 6 subjects (100%) thought the intervention improved their communication skills in breaking bad news to cancer patients* (P<.048). Conclusions. BBNSPI improved HOFs’ and APNs’ communication skills in breaking bad news to cancer patients. The perception of the subjects about BBNSPI was positive.
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Eid, A., Petty, M., Hutchins, L. et al. “Breaking Bad News”: Standardized Patient Intervention improves communication skills for hematology-oncology fellows and advanced practice nurses. J Canc Educ 24, 154–159 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1080/08858190902854848
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08858190902854848