Dealing with Death & Dying in Medical Education and Practice © 2001 Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS Email:griefdoc@kirstimd.com AMSA Convention March 30, 2001

Delivering Bad News Choose a quiet setting. Give the news in person, if possible. Choose a moment when patient & physician are rested & have enough time. If an interpreter is used, talk to him/her in advance. Assess the patient’s present physiologic and emotional state. Prepare the patient by saying there is a difficult topic to discuss. Use clear, simple language. Express sorrow for the patient’s pain; be human. Give limited information; schedule time to talk again later. Be realistic; avoid minimizing the problem. Don’t take away all hope. See how the patient feels after hearing the news. Reassure the patient of the continued availability of care no matter what happens. Source Miranda J. Brody RV. Communicating bad news. WJM 1992; 156:83-85.

Compilation of resources for this presentation and Website © 2001 Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS. Journey of Hearts, www.journeyofhearts.org