Open AccessBarriers and facilitating communication skills for breaking bad news: from the specialists’ practice perspective
Author(s) -
Enna Catalina Payán,
David Andrés Montoya,
John Jairo Vargas,
María Clara Vélez,
Alfonso Castaño,
Alicia Krikorian
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
colombia medica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.455
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1657-9534
pISSN - 0120-8322
DOI - 10.25100/cm.v40i2.638
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , process (computing) , action (physics) , point (geometry) , medicine , action plan , communication skills , medical education , plan (archaeology) , psychology , nursing , computer science , history , ecology , physics , geometry , mathematics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , biology , operating system
Breaking bad news is one of a physician’s most difficult duties. There are several studies related to the patient’s needs, but few reflect on the doctors’ experience. Materials and method: A descriptive, cross-sectional research was carried out to study issues related to the process of delivering bad news which might act as barriers and facilitating skills from the doctor’s point of view. These issues were identified through a self-administered survey. Results: Participant doctors use different strategies to communicate bad news to their patients. Examples of these strategies are: to be familiar with the patients’ medical history, to ensure that there is enough time, to know the patient’s caregivers and/or relatives, to determine the patient’s level of knowledge about his/her condition, to use non-technical words, to give information in small pieces, to assess the patient’s understanding, to devise a joint action plan, among others. Conclusion: The communication barriers that were identified focused on the emotional issues of the communication process, particularly those related to the recognition of own emotions, and the limited training about communication strategies available to doctors. Consequently, there is a need to implement training programs that provide doctors with tools to facilitate the bad news communication process.