Dr. Amanda Lorenz discusses the importance of empathy and communication when delivering bad news to patients. Topics include effective communication strategies, using simple language, providing emotional support, delivering bad news remotely, and navigating emotional reactions.
Establishing rapport quickly is essential for delivering bad news in urgent situations.
Validating patient emotions and using clear communication aids in effectively conveying bad news.
Deep dives
Importance of Compassionate Delivery of Bad News
Delivering bad news is a crucial responsibility for healthcare providers, requiring compassion and empathy. Establishing a good relationship with patients can facilitate the process, but in cases of urgency, rapport must be built swiftly. Tools like body language and addressing distractions play a significant role. Bad news encompasses various life-changing scenarios beyond cancer diagnoses, demanding clarity and concise communication.
Assessing Patient's Emotional Responses and Providing Support
Patient reactions to bad news vary, including emotional responses that require acknowledgment and support. Validating the emotions expressed without internalizing them is essential. Clear communication and utilizing tools like 'ask, tell, ask' aid in gauging patient understanding. Handling prolonged discussions and managing uncertainties with patience can mitigate emotional distress.
Challenges of Remote Bad News Delivery and Strategies for Communication
Delivering bad news remotely via phone or video presents challenges in maintaining nonverbal cues. Setting the right tone, ensuring the patient's readiness, and using concise language are key. Adaptation of relationship-building techniques and maintaining empathy remain crucial even in virtual settings. Emphasizing support and providing clear, concise information are vital aspects in conveying bad news effectively.
Giving our patients bad or unexpected news is one of the most difficult, but also one of the most important responsibilities we have as health care clinicians. This is when our patients need us the most and we need to do this with compassion and empathy. This is best done face to face and ideally once we have established a good relationship with our patient. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible. A clinician in the emergency department telling a patient they’ve suffered an MI or a radiologist explaining a worrisome finding on mammogram may have just recently met the patient. What’s the best way to give our patients bad news? Can we become better at this? What can we expect from our patients after they hear the news? And how much information should we share with them? These are all topics we’ll discuss with our guest, Amanda K. Lorenz, M.D., a palliative medicine physician. Our topic for this podcast is “Giving Bad News”.
Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd.
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