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Objective: Integrating education about physician-patient communication into oncology specialists' education is important to improve quality of care. Our aim was to rigorously evaluate a 4-year institutionally-based patient communication skills program for oncology post-graduate trainees., Methods: Trainees from 10 specialties in the U.S. participated in patient communication skills modules tailored to sub-specialties. The program was evaluated by comparing pre-post scores on hierarchical outcomes: course evaluation, self-confidence, skills uptake in standardized and real patient encounters, and patient evaluations of satisfaction with communication. We examined breadth of skill usage as key outcome. Generalized estimating equations were used in data analysis., Results: Two hundred and sixty-two trainees' data were analyzed, resulting in 984 standardized and 753 real patient encounters. Participants reported high satisfaction and demonstrated significant skill growth with standardized patients, but transfer of these skills into real patient encounters was incomplete. Participants with lower baseline scores had larger improvements with both standardized and real patients., Conclusion: The program was well received and increased participant skills in the simulated setting without effective transfer to real patient encounters., Practice Implications: Future work should allocate proportionally greater resources to trainees with lower baseline scores and measure breadth of participant skill usage as an outcome., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

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.

Cancer patients report significant levels of unmet needs in the realm of communication. Communication skills training programs have been shown to improve clinical communication. However, advanced communication skills training programs in oncology have lacked institutional integration, and thus have not attended to institutional norms and cultures that may counteract explicit communication skills training. We developed and implemented an advanced communication skills training program made up of nine teaching modules for faculty, fellows, and residents. Training included didactic and experiential small group work. Self-efficacy and behavior change were assessed for individual participants. Since 2006, 515 clinicians have participated in this training program. Participants have shown significant gains in self-efficacy regarding communicating with patients in various contexts. Our initial work in this area demonstrates the implementation of such a program at a major cancer center to be feasible, to be acceptable, and to have a significant impact on participants' self-efficacy.