Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

E-Patient Counseling Trial (E-PACO): Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy
Published on: August 1, 2019
[Giving bad news in medicine: an exploratory study]
M L Bascuñán1, A Roizblatt, D Roizblatt
1Psicóloga, Departamento de Bioética y Humanidades Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Providencia. mbascunan@med.uchile.cl
Unlabelled:
Giving bad news is inherent to the practice of medicine. Development of guidelines for this task has great value, although the orientations are only general and should be adapted to each case, allowing for the cultural idiosyncrasy of the people involved.
Objectives:
the present study aims to explore common practices of giving bad news in different hospital services in Santiago-Chile.
Materials And Methods:
a qualitative methodology was applied through three focus groups with a sample of 33 physicians from two hospitals in Santiago-Chile.
Results:
giving bad news is a frequent practice for which no training is given. It generates preoccupation and interest among professionals. There is no agreed procedure to communicate bad news. Each professional has had to develop his/her own way from his/her experience and observing others. Informing the patient is seen as an ethical duty, but in many cases it is not easy because of family pressure. Comments are made on different types of bad news, strategies for this communicational process and facilitators and barriers for it.
Conclusion:
Doctors' own professional past experience is a central factor in the way bad news is given, and so self-development mechanisms constitute an important challenge.
Related Concept Videos
Blind Procedures
Obedience
The Placebo Effect
Ethics in Research
Endoscopic Studies I: Bronchoscopy and Thoracoscopy
Bronchoscopy
Description
Bronchoscopy is a procedure that involves direct visualization of the larynx, trachea, and bronchi for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. A flexible fiber optic or rigid bronchoscope is used to carry out the procedure. The fiber-optic bronchoscope is more frequently used due to...
SBAR II: Application of SBAR
SBAR Report from a Nurse to a Health Care Provider
S: "Hello, Dr. Smith. This is Jane, RN, from the Med Surg unit. I am calling to tell you about Ms. White in Room 210, who is experiencing increased pain and redness at her incision site. Her recent...
