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The implementation and evaluation of a communication skills training program for oncology nurses

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Translational Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Many nurses express difficulty in communicating with their patients, especially in oncology settings where there are numerous challenges and high-stake decisions during the course of diagnosis and treatment. Providing specific training in communication skills is one way to enhance the communication between nurses and their patients. We developed and implemented a communication skills training program for nurses, consisting of three teaching modules: responding empathically to patients; discussing death, dying, and end-of-life goals of care; and responding to challenging interactions with families. Training included didactic and experiential small group role plays. This paper presents results on program evaluation, self-efficacy, and behavioral demonstration of learned communication skills. Three hundred forty-two inpatient oncology nurses participated in a 1-day communication skills training program and completed course evaluations, self-reports, and pre- and post-standardized patient assessments. Participants rated the training favorably, and they reported significant gains in self-efficacy in their ability to communicate with patients in various contexts. Participants also demonstrated significant improvement in several empathic skills, as well as in clarifying skill. Our work demonstrates that implementation of a nurse communication skills training program at a major cancer center is feasible and acceptable and has a significant impact on participants’ self-efficacy and uptake of communication skills.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the following sources of support: The Geri and ME Fund, funds from Memorial Sloan Kettering Nursing Education, The Fridolin Charitable Trust, and Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG-Core Grant; P30 CA008748; PI: Craig B. Thompson, MD). We would also like to thank the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) nurse leaders for their support in recruiting for and helping facilitate inpatient nurse training.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 641 Lexington Ave., 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10022, USA

    Smita C. Banerjee PhD (Assistant Attending Behavioral Scientist, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences), Ruth Manna MPH, Nessa Coyle NP, PhD, Stacey Penn BSN, RN, OCN, Tess E. Gallegos MA, Talia Zaider PhD, Carol A. Krueger (LCSW), Philip A. Bialer MD, Carma L. Bylund PhD & Patricia A. Parker PhD

  2. Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

    Carma L. Bylund PhD

  3. Weill Cornell Medicine, Doha, Qatar

    Carma L. Bylund PhD

Authors
  1. Smita C. Banerjee PhD
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  2. Ruth Manna MPH
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  3. Nessa Coyle NP, PhD
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  4. Stacey Penn BSN, RN, OCN
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  5. Tess E. Gallegos MA
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  6. Talia Zaider PhD
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  7. Carol A. Krueger
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  8. Philip A. Bialer MD
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  9. Carma L. Bylund PhD
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  10. Patricia A. Parker PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Smita C. Banerjee PhD.

Ethics declarations

The findings reported in this paper have not been previously published and the manuscript has not been simultaneously submitted elsewhere.

This manuscript presents implementation and evaluation of a nursing communication skills training program, from 2012 to 2014. The program consists of three modules. We have described the development of the program in this paper briefly because three individual manuscripts on the detailed development of each of the three modules are published and referenced in the manuscript.

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

The authors have full control of all primary data and we agree to allow the journal to review the data, if requested.

Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Institutional Review Board waiver was approved to allow the researchers’ laboratory to operate this training as a quality improvement initiative to the nursing communication skills training curriculum. The exempt status allowed the laboratory to conduct CST training as a routine educational practice and permitted release of de-identified data on the effectiveness of this training program. Thus, informed consent was not obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Implications

Practice: Communication skills training for oncology nurses (as well as for other health providers) is feasible and an effective way of improving communication between nurse and patient/families.

Policy: Communication skills training program for nurses should be offered at cancer centers to improve communication between nurse and patient/families.

Research: Research should examine the impact of communication skills training on relevant patient outcomes.

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Banerjee, S.C., Manna, R., Coyle, N. et al. The implementation and evaluation of a communication skills training program for oncology nurses. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 7, 615–623 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-017-0473-5

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