Simulation-based training for end-of-life communication may not have benefits over traditional communication education, according to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers assigned nearly 230 internal medicine and nurse practitioner trainees to a simulation-based communication skills intervention, while approximately the same number of trainees attended standard communication skills training.
The groups of trainees interacted with 1,866 patients and 936 families, who rated quality of communication, quality of end-of-life care and depressive symptoms (patients only).
While patients and families rated quality of communication and quality of end-of-life care similarly between the two groups of trainees, patients treated by trainees who had received simulation-based communication training reported significantly higher depression scores after receiving treatment and communication from that group.
Researchers concluded their findings bring skills transfer from communication simulation training into patient care into question.
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