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.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 154-159 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Cancer Education |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2009 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health