Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009;24(2):154-9.
doi: 10.1080/08858190902854848.

"Breaking bad news": standardized patient intervention improves communication skills for hematology-oncology fellows and advanced practice nurses

Ahmed Eid  1 , Michael Petty, Laura Hutchins, Reed Thompson
Affiliations

"Breaking bad news": standardized patient intervention improves communication skills for hematology-oncology fellows and advanced practice nurses

Ahmed Eid et al. J Cancer Educ. 2009.

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.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Acad Med. 2006 Nov;81(11):1000-7 - PubMed
    1. J Cancer Educ. 1997 Fall;12(3):166-73 - PubMed
    1. J Cancer Educ. 1999 Spring;14(1):13-7 - PubMed
    1. J Clin Oncol. 2003 Jun 15;21(12):2433-6 - PubMed
    1. JAMA. 1997 Feb 19;277(7):553-9 - PubMed