Breaking Bad News
Prompt: Watch 2–3 publicly available training or role‑play videos where clinicians deliver difficult news. Analyse the interaction, focusing on both good and bad examples of practice.
Task Overview
This task involves watching 2–3 short training or role‑play videos where clinicians practise delivering difficult news. Your goal is to analyse how the clinician structures the conversation, manages the patient’s emotional response, and demonstrates empathy.
You will compare good examples with poor examples.
Breaking bad news is a core skill in medicine, and the videos below show real clinicians discussing or modelling communication strategies.
To get you started
1. Choose 2–3 videos from the list
Pick clips that show real role‑plays or training discussions where a clinician delivers difficult news. Below are some links you could use.
2. Observe how the clinician prepares and opens the conversation
Make notes on:
- How they introduce themselves
- Whether they set expectations gently (“I’m afraid we need to talk about your test results…”)
- Whether they check the patient’s awareness
3. Analyse the delivery of the news
Look for:
- Clarity vs. vagueness
- Bluntness vs. slow “warning shots”
- Use of simple vs. overly technical language
- Silence, pauses, and pacing
- Ability to respond to emotion
4. Identify good communication behaviours
Examples might include:
- Checking understanding (“Can I pause to check what you’ve taken from this so far?”)
- Showing empathy (“I can see this is a shock…”)
- Allowing silence
- Validating feelings
- Offering follow‑up or next steps
5. Identify weaker or problematic behaviours
These may include:
- Rushing the conversation due to time pressure
- Using technical jargon
- Giving too much information at once
- Appearing detached or uncomfortable
6. Compare the examples
Write a short comparison noting:
- Which clinician was clearest
- Who showed the best emotional awareness
- Which mistakes were most noticeable in the weaker example
7. Write your conclusion
Summarise:
- What makes breaking‑bad‑news communication effective
- Key strategies you would adopt (e.g., warning shots, empathy, summarising)
- What you learned about balancing honesty with compassion