How to break bad news: a guide for health care professionals/ Robert Buckman with contributions by Yvonne Kason

For many health care professionals and social service providers, the hardest part of the job is breaking bad news. The news may be about a condition that is life-threatening (such as cancer or AIDS), disabling (such as multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis), or embarrassing (such as genital herpes). To date medical education has done little to train practitioners in coping with such situations. With this guide Robert Buckman and Yvonne Kason provide help.Using plain, intelligible language they outline the basic principles of breaking bad new and present a technique, or protocol, that can be easily learned. It draws on listening and interviewing skills that consider such factors as how much the patient knows and/or wants to know; how to identify the patient's agenda and understanding, and how to respond to his or her feelings about the information. They also discuss reactions of family and friends and of other members of the health care team.Based on Buckman's award-winning training videos and Kason's courses on interviewing skills for medical students, this volume is an indispensable aid for doctors, nurses, psychotherapists, social workers, and all those in related fields. Cover Contents Acknowledgments 1 Introduction Why This Book Is Necessary Who Should Read This Book? A Brief Note about the Format Objectives Why This Task Is Worth Doing Well Should We Tell the Truth? Who Should Break the Bad News? 2 Why Breaking Bad News Is Difficult A Definition of Bad News Why Bad News Is Bad A Greater Difficulty: Facing Death 3 Basic Communication Skills Professional Listening Why Patients Are Unhappy The Basic Steps of the Medical Interview Professional vs Social Dialogue 4 Breaking Bad News: A Six-Step Protocol Some General Comments The Six-Step Protocol 5 The Patient's Reactions General Hints in Responding to Reactions Specific Reactions 6 Other Peoples' Reactions Reactions of Family and Friends Reactions of the Health Care Professional Issues between Members of the Health Care Team Ethical and Legal Issues Cultural Issues Conclusion Appendix: An Interview Using the Breaking-Bad-News Protocol Notes