Participative development and evaluation of a communication skills–training program for oncologists—patient perspectives on training content and teaching methods

Participative development and evaluation of a communication skills–training program for oncologists—patient perspectives on training content and teaching methods

Background Using the 6-step approach to curriculum development for medical education, we developed a communication skills training (CST) curriculum for oncology and evaluated this curriculum from the perspective of cancer patients. Methods We conducted a qualitative interview study with cancer patie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Supportive care in cancer Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 1957 - 1966
Main Authors: Ernstmann, Nicole, Nakata, Hannah, Meurer, Lena, Weiß, Johanna, Geiser, Franziska, Vitinius, Frank, Petermann-Meyer, Andrea, Burgmer, Markus, Sonntag, Bernd, Teufel, Martin, Karger, André
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-03-2022
Springer
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Cancer
Cancer patients
Communication
Content analysis
Curricula
Curriculum
Education
Empathy
Female
Humans
Medical Oncology - education
Medical research
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Medicine, Experimental
Methods
Middle Aged
Nursing
Nursing Research
Oncologists
Oncology
Original
Original Article
Pain Medicine
Patient education
Patient-centered care
Patients
Physician and patient
Physician-Patient Relations
Rehabilitation Medicine
Surveys
Teaching methods
Training
Communication skills training
Oncology
Cancer patients
Formative evaluation
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Summary:Background Using the 6-step approach to curriculum development for medical education, we developed a communication skills training (CST) curriculum for oncology and evaluated this curriculum from the perspective of cancer patients. Methods We conducted a qualitative interview study with cancer patients, collecting data using semi-structured face-to-face or telephone interviews with a short standardized survey. We fully transcribed the audiotaped interviews and conducted the content analysis using MAXQDA 2020. We analyzed the quantitative sociodemographic data descriptively. Results A total of 22 cancer patients participated, having a mean age of 60.6 ( SD , 13.2) years and being predominantly female (55%). The patients believed that the CST curriculum addressed important aspects of patient-centered communication in cancer care. They emphasized the importance of physicians acquiring communication skills to establish a trusting relationship between doctor and patient, show empathy, inform patients, and involve them in treatment decisions. The patients had some doubts concerning the usefulness of strict protocols or checklists (e.g., they feared that protocol adherence might disturb the conversation flow). Discussion Although it was a challenge for some participants to take the perspective of a trainer and comment on the CST content and teaching methods, the patients provided a valuable perspective that can help overcome blind spots in CST concepts.
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ISSN:0941-4355
1433-7339
DOI:10.1007/s00520-021-06610-1