Teaching Pediatric Intensive Care Physicians Communication Skills: The Enduring Effects

Title

Teaching Pediatric Intensive Care Physicians Communication Skills: The Enduring Effects

Creator

Walter J; Shah P; Odeniyi F; Madrigal V; Feudtner C

Identifier

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.12.048

Publisher

Journal Of Pain And Symptom Management

Date

2016

Description

Objectives
Determine feasibility of a communication skills
training (CST) to prepare pediatric intensivists
for communicating bad news and assessing goals
of care in the pediatric intensive care unit
(PICU).
Describe the impact of CST on intensivist skill in
communication.
Original Research Background. Families of seriously
ill children describe unmet needs for honest information
presented empathetically, while intensivists
report inadequate training in having difficult
conversations.
Research Objectives. 1. To determine feasibility of
communication skills training (CST) to prepare pediatric
intensivists for communicating bad news and assessing
goals of care in the pediatric intensive care
unit (PICU). 2. To describe the impact of CST on intensivist
skill in communication.
Methods. Intensivists volunteered to undergo CST
with didactics, discussions with simulated parents,
and a videotaped OSCE exam. Surveys prior to the
intervention and one month after were tabulated for
descriptive statistics. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests
compared outcomes at 2 time points. 2 independent
trained reviewers scored the OSCE using a validated
tool.
Results. Twelve participants completed training. In
the post-CST survey, all participants agreed the
Vol. 51 No. 2 February 2016 Poster Abstracts 431
training gave them skills to communicate in challenging
situations, and they would recommend it to
peers. When comparing pre- and post-CST self-assessment
measures of intensivists’ information-seeking
from families, there was a significant increase 1 month
after training (p¼0.03), with intensivists more likely to
ask what kinds of information families need and what
their understanding of their child’s disease is, but no
significant changes in information seeking or giving,
which was not covered in the training. Finally, 11 of
the 12 intensivists received passing scores on the
OSCE as measured by a validated tool, with the
average score being 48.5 (SD 5.92) compared to 38.6
(SD 9.93) after training that was reported in the
literature.
Conclusion. This study provides evidence that intensivists
are willing to participate in CST and an OSCE
exam, and they find it worthwhile. There is also evidence
that they perceive an improvement in their skill
set as a result of having participated.
Implications for Research, Policy or
Practice. Offering realistic, simulation-based CST is
feasible and effective for training intensivists.

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Citation List Month

March 2016 List

Citation

Walter J; Shah P; Odeniyi F; Madrigal V; Feudtner C, “Teaching Pediatric Intensive Care Physicians Communication Skills: The Enduring Effects,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed March 28, 2024, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/10582.