Evaluating the Implementation of Co-constructive Patient Simulation in the Training of Communication skills in Paediatric Palliative Care

• Grant number: 23/01251-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: July 10, 2023
• End date: July 09, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Fernanda Bono Fukushima
• Grantee: Fernanda Bono Fukushima
• Host Investigator: Marco Antonio de Carvalho Filho
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FMB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), Netherlands

Abstract

Despite the existing international consensus that communication plays an essential role in the practice of health care and that communication skills are a core competency that medical students must acquire during their training, there are still major gaps in how those abilities are taught and learnt throughout the education of both undergraduate and graduate physicians. Some of the most challenging areas of communication in health care take place in the context of caring for people at the end of life and encompass issues such as the breaking of bad news, negotiating goals of care, performing advance care planning, and dealing with conflict. Probably, paediatric palliative care is the area within the general field of palliative care where those conversations are most challenging and where most training and research in regards to communication skills is needed. Indeed, communication is one of the seven research priorities for the emergent field of paediatric palliative care recently identified by an international panel of experts in this area. In this study, we aim to implement the novel method of Co-Constructive Patient Simulation (CCPS) in the education of paediatric residents on communication skills in the context of paediatric palliative care. We will use qualitative methods of thematic analysis to understand the communication challenges faced by paediatric residents concerning the care of children with serious illnesses, what residents learn during the CCPS process, and the short- and medium-term impact of participating in that programme in the behaviour of paediatric residents and the care of their patients.