Oncology Commons^™

Delivering Challenging News: An Illness-Trajectory Communication Curriculum For Multispecialty Oncology Residents And Fellows, D. Cannone, M. Atlas, A. Fornari, M. L. Barilla-Labarca, M. Hoffman

Journal Articles

Introduction: Published curricula to teach communication skills for postgraduate fellows in oncology are few in number despite the fact that oncologists conduct many difficult discussions with their patients and their families. Such discussions may include disclosing initial diagnosis or relapse of a patient's cancer or relaying a poor prognosis or change to palliative care. Methods: An eight-module course on communication in oncology practice was delivered over 2 months for palliative and oncology fellows and radiation oncology residents. Learners were given a precourse survey in which they were asked to rate their proficiency in various communication tasks. Each learner then participated …