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Communication training for inter‐specialty clinicians
Author(s) -
October Tessie W,
Dizon Zoelle B,
Hamilton Melinda F,
Madrigal Vanessa N,
Arnold Robert M
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the clinical teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.354
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1743-498X
pISSN - 1743-4971
DOI - 10.1111/tct.12927
Subject(s) - specialty , subspecialty , medicine , medical education , communication skills , nurse practitioners , medline , family medicine , nursing , psychology , health care , political science , law , economics , economic growth
Summary Background Inter‐specialty clinicians often co‐lead family conferences for hospitalised patients. Families frequently report receiving different messages from different clinicians. We developed a communication training workshop that crosses disciplines and co‐trains clinicians in one setting to create a culture of delivering a unified message. Methods We developed a 2‐day paediatric communication skills workshop to teach the skills necessary to conduct a family conference. The workshop was targeted at nurse‐practitioners and faculty clinicians representing the different specialties that co‐manage children in an intensive care unit. Our primary outcomes were learner self‐assessment of skills attainment and workshop satisfaction. We also evaluated the feasibility of recruiting busy clinicians. Results Fifteen clinicians, including eight critical care faculty members (80% of eligible participants), three subspecialty faculty members (100% of eligible participants) and four nurse‐practitioners (100% of eligible participants), participated. Learners' self‐reported confidence improved in all communication metrics assessed. From pre‐ to post‐workshop, confidence increased from 39% to 94% for ‘giving bad news’ (p < 0.05), from 50% to 83% for ‘conducting a family conference’ (p < 0.05), and from 39% to 100% for ‘eliciting a family’s values/preferences (p < 0.05). Every learner rated the workshop as important to their clinical practice and 100% would strongly recommend it to others. All reported the time commitment was not burdensome and 74% would choose this 2‐day format over shorter formats. When clinicians learn together, they are more likely to speak the same language when communicating with each other, and ultimately to deliver the same message to familiesConclusions An inter‐specialty communication training workshop for different types of clinician was well received. It is feasible to co‐train different types of clinician in a joint session. When clinicians learn together, they are more likely to speak the same language when communicating with each other, and ultimately to deliver the same message to families.