Practicing Communication Skills For Responding to Emotionally Charged Questions

To assess the impact of a 1-hour communication skills workshop highlighting the "ask more and summarize technique" (AMST) to teach residents an effective way to respond to emotionally charged questions.

From December 2015 to January 2017, residents on an inpatient oncology or palliative medicine rotation attended a mandatory 1-hour workshop on AMST involving a short introduction to the technique followed by skills practice. A survey (S1) was administered to the residents during the first session to assess their self-reported attitudes and practices. A follow-up survey (S2) was e-mailed at the end of the rotation to assess the usefulness of AMST.

Twenty-one participants completed S1, and 12 participants completed S2. A total of 62% (13/21) reported the workshop was "very useful." There was a reported increased frequency of "summarizing back" between surveys ( P = .01). Addressing fear and anxiety (75%, 9/12) and responding to patients who were angry/upset (67%, 8/12) were the situations where AMST was found to be the most useful. Fifty-four percent of respondents (7/12) felt they could have used AMST more.

A 1-hour communication skills workshop targeting residents on an inpatient oncology or palliative rotation increased the use of summary statements in challenging situations.

A short skills practice workshop can be incorporated into a busy clinical curriculum to achieve changes in trainee behaviors and attitudes.