Communication of bad news in relation with surgery or anesthesia: An interdisciplinary simulation training program

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Patient Safety
• Communication Skills Training

Background:

• Disclosure of patient harm is challenging due to guilt and liability fears.
• Effective communication is crucial for patient trust and medical ethics.
• Previous training methods have shown limited long-term impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an interdisciplinary simulation program for communicating patient harm.
• To evaluate the impact of this simulation on residents' communication abilities.
• To assess the retention of learned skills over 3-6 months.

Main Methods:

• 80 residents from gynecology/obstetrics and anesthesiology participated in role-playing scenarios.
• A modified SPIKES protocol and video analysis assessed communication skills and interdisciplinary relations.
• Long-term impact was evaluated via self-assessment and video analysis at 3-6 months.

Main Results:

• High satisfaction (9.1/10) with the simulation training.
• Empathic attitudes were high in life-threatening scenarios but lower in less severe ones.
• Residents reported immediate improvements in communication and practice changes, with positive but reduced long-term reports.

Conclusions:

• Residents need further training to master critical communication skills for disclosing patient harm.
• The interdisciplinary approach to breaking bad news was perceived as beneficial.
• Simulation is a valuable tool for improving patient harm disclosure communication.