Breaking bad news--development of a hospital-based training workshop

The skills required to break bad news have been written about extensively and are taught in medical schools. Recent initiatives have concentrated on improving the skills of doctors and nurses in senior positions, who act as role models for their junior colleagues. A multiprofessional learning situation can be a threatening environment, in which colleagues may worry about exposing some of the weaknesses in their knowledge and skills regarding communication with patients. We describe the initiation, running, and evaluation of successful training workshops on breaking bad news in a large British district hospital.