Building the Skill of Delivering Bad News

Delivering bad news in the emergency department can be a stressful and reluctantly performed undertaking. However, from the patient's or family's perspective it is a very critical time in their life and therefore demands that the medical practitioner deliver the news in the most helpful way possible. Having a method to perform this task can empower the practitioner to improve the experience for the patient and ultimately provide better patient care. The 5 steps presented: site preparation, building the foundation, using the level, adapting to unexpected obstacles, and planning for the future, will provide an approach and a paradigm to perform this very important task. The skills of building rapport and reflective listening, along with the ability to calmly deal with a wide variety of emotions will also be discussed. These tools and skills will assist the pediatric emergency physician to better approach this important mission.