title: Responding empathically to patients: Development, implementation, and evaluation of a communication skills training module for oncology nurses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this paper is to report on the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Communication Skills Training (CST) module for inpatient oncology nurses on how to respond empathically to patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  248 nurses from a USA cancer center participated in a CST module on responding empathically to patients. Nurses completed pre- and post-training Standardized Patient Assessments (SPAs), a survey on their confidence in and intent to utilize skills taught, and a six-month post-training survey of self-reported use of skills.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results indicate that nurses were satisfied with the module, reporting that agreement or strong agreement to 5 out of 6 items assessing satisfaction 96.7%-98.0% of the time. Nurses' self-efficacy in responding empathically significantly increased pre- to post-training. Additionally, nurses showed empathy skill improvement in the post-SPAs. Finally, 88.2% of nurses reported feeling confident in using the skills they learned post-training and reported an increase of 42-63% in the use of specific empathic skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A CST module for nurses in responding empathically to patients showed feasibility, acceptability, and improvement in self-efficacy as well as skill uptake.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This CST module provides an easily targeted intervention for improving nurse-patient communication and patient-centered care.
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA.
authors.forename: Cassandra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pehrson
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA.
authors.forename: Smita C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Manna
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA.
authors.forename: Megan Johnson
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA.
authors.forename: Stacey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hammonds
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA.
authors.forename: Nessa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Coyle
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA.
authors.forename: Carol A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Krueger
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maloney
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA.
authors.forename: Talia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zaider
authors.affiliation: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA; Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar; Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Qatar. Electronic address: cab2037@qatar-med.cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Carma L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Bylund
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000193:education; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000193:education*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Communication skills training; Empathy; Healthcare communication; Nurse-patient communication