Uncovering and validating clinicians' experiential knowledge when facing difficult conversations: a cross-cultural...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Communication Skills Training
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Difficult conversations are a critical aspect of clinical practice.
• Medical education often overlooks the experiential knowledge clinicians gain in managing these interactions.
• Understanding clinicians' existing strategies is key to effective communication training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore clinicians' experiential knowledge in conducting difficult conversations.
• To determine if this experiential knowledge is culturally influenced.

Main Methods:

• Data collected from clinicians in Italy and the United States during Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills (PERCS) workshops.
• Clinicians shared helpful strategies for difficult conversations via a whiteboard exercise.
• Content analysis and aggregated concept analysis were used to identify themes.

Main Results:

• A total of 304 clinicians participated across 14 Italian and 12 American workshops.
• Common themes included organizational aspects, communication skills, clinician mindfulness, interpersonal qualities, and care coordination.
• US participants specifically noted attention to cultural differences as a strategy.

Conclusions:

• Clinicians utilize unrecognized relational strategies derived from experience.
• A whiteboard exercise effectively uncovers and validates existing clinician knowledge.
• Communication training can enhance clinician preparedness by leveraging their experiential knowledge.