title: Specific training program improves oncologists' palliative care communication skills in a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to demonstrate that COM-ON-p, concise and individualized communication skills training (CST), improves oncologists' communication skills in consultations focusing on the transition to palliative care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-one physicians were randomly assigned to a control (CG) or intervention group (IG). At t(0), all physicians held two video-recorded consultations with actor-patient pairs. Afterward, physicians in the IG participated in COM-ON-p. Five weeks after t(0), a second assessment took place (t(1)). COM-ON-p consists of an 11-hour workshop (1.5 days), pre- and postassessment (2 hours), and coaching (0.5 hours). Physicians focused on practicing individual learning goals with actor patients in small groups. To evaluate the training, blinded raters assessed communication behavior of the physicians in video-recorded actor-patient consultations using a specific checklist. Data were analyzed using a mixed model with baseline levels as covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants in the IG improved significantly more than those in the CG in all three sections of the COM-ON-Checklist: skills specific to the transition to palliative care, global communication skills, and involvement of significant others (all P < .01). Differences between the CG and IG on the global items of communication skills and involvement of significant others were also significant (P < .01). Effect sizes were medium to large, with a 0.5-point improvement on average on a five-point rating scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physicians can be trained to meet better core challenges during the transition to palliative care through developed concise CST. Generalization and transfer into clinical practice must be proven in additional studies.
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center, Department of Internal Medicine I, Hematology and Oncology, Hugstetter Str. 55, 79106 Freiburg, Germany. tanja.goelz@uniklinik-freiburg.de
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goelz
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wuensch
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stubenrauch
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ihorst
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Figueiredo
authors.forename: Hartmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bertz
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wirsching
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fritzsche
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000193:education*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians; D012381:Role Playing