Prostate news article, March 2008
BREAKING BAD NEWS WORKSHOP Training by experts in this first specialist workshop in UK promoted by Prostate UK and Simplyhealth Reported by Kate Holmes, Trustee of Prostate UK |
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The first Breaking Bad News workshop, made possible by Prostate UK (and supported by Simplyhealth), was held on 28th February 2008 at the Institute of Physics, London W1. It was attended by a number of Consultant Urologists as well as healthcare professionals such as myself, Kate Holmes, a Urology Nurse Specialist and Trustee of the Charity.
The workshop was developed by St.Christopher’s Hospice, and we were very fortunate in being facilitated throughout the day by two of their most experienced trainers; Dr Nigel Sykes, Medical Director and Consultant in Palliative Medicine and Isobel Bremner, social worker, counsellor and trainer.
Professor Roger Kirby, Chairman of Prostate UK, introduced the day by explaining that there seem to be few training opportunities for urologists and other health care professionals who face a difficult challenge when communicating significant news to patients, particularly given the uncertainties concerning diagnosis and treatment options for prostate cancer.
Dr Sykes began by stressing how important it is to break bad news well. This was clearly demonstrated by two video clips of prostate cancer patients talking through their own feelings on receiving the diagnosis of prostate cancer. There followed an interactive discussion on these cases, during which the group learnt more about the latest research surrounding techniques of how to break bad news better.
In the session that followed we were able to put into practice these skills during a role play scenario in which one of us played the part of the patient, and the other, the health care professional telling the patient he is suffering from early prostate cancer. Subsequently, we switched roles to explore a second scenario of talking to a patient with advanced prostate cancer. This was a really valuable exercise in making us think hard about how we conduct these interviews in the most sympathetic and effective way. Using techniques such as getting the physical context right, finding out how much the patient knows already, sharing information, responding to the patient’s feelings and planning the next steps, all help the patient at this difficult and distressing time. Through some small group work, we learnt about appropriate responses to reactions to bad news and the day concluded with a discussion and Q & A session.
The importance of material for the patient to take away, contact telephone numbers and websites such as www.prostateuk.org for more information was emphasised by all.
Thanks go to St.Christopher’s Hospice and Prostate UK for making this exercise possible. I found the day really helpful and after having access to these experts, I came away feeling more confident and ready to apply the lessons in my day to day work. As has been said before, if we break bad news badly we will not be forgiven, conversely, if we break it well, we will never be forgotten!