ABSTRACT
Communication is a dynamic and open process and, in the field of health, it involves from the transmission of messages to obtaining information. “Bad news” can be considered all information that involves a drastic and negative change in the patient’s life and regarding the perspective of the future. To give “bad news” to the patient includes everything from a diagnosis of a terminal illness, to pathologies that interfere with their quality of life. In Brazil, there is a problem regarding this subject, because there is not much content in the curricular grid about the communication of bad news, as well as little practice on the use of communication methods. This directly impacts both the professional and personal life of the future physician, as well as the relationship with the patient. The present article is a cross-sectional descriptive study, carried out in the cities of Joinville and Jaraguá do Sul, and the project was submitted to and approved by the institutions’ ethical assessment according to Brazilian standards. It aims to describe the understanding of sixth-year undergraduate medical students and first-year residents when dealing with the reporting of bad news. The sample consisted of 63 participants, with data collected from a questionnaire, between April and September 2018 and analyzed descriptively in terms of frequency of each response. As for the results, it is noteworthy that the task considered the most difficult one was to talk about the end of an attempted curative treatment; 61% considered themselves reasonably skilled regarding the ability to communicate bad news, and that involving the family member or patient in the decision-making process is the most difficult factor during the discussion. In addition, 74% of the participants were unaware of any method of communication and 44% believed that practical classes with real patients would be an effective way of learning. Therefore, it is concluded that the lack of preparation to mediate such situations implies in heterogeneous behaviors that could be avoided with instructions and would contribute to the best training during undergraduate medical school.
Communication; Undergraduate course; Teaching Materials; Medical Schools
