Mindfulness Improves Otolaryngology Residents' Performance in a Simulated Bad-News Consultation: A Pilot Study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether a short mindfulness meditation session could improve ENT residents' performance in simulated bad-news consultations by reducing stress and enhancing communication skills.
Results Summary
The mindfulness group showed significantly better performance in the simulated consultation compared to the control group, particularly in communication and knowledge subdomains. While perceived stress did not differ significantly between groups, empathy ratings from simulated patients correlated positively with residents' performance.
Population
53 ENT residents
Effective Dosage
5-minute mindfulness session
Duration
Single session
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
a short mindfulness meditation session performed just before a simulated breaking bad-news consultation | decrease | stress | ear, nose and throat (ENT) residents | - | may help | #1 |
a short mindfulness meditation performed before a simulated bad-news consultation | increase | performance in its realisation | ENT residents | - | may improve | #2 |
a 5-minute mindfulness session | increase | performance | ENT residents | m = 19.8, sd = 3.2 | was significantly better | #3 |
a control track | neutral | performance | ENT residents | m = 17.4, sd = 3.7 | - | #4 |
a 5-minute mindfulness session | increase | performance | ENT residents | F(1,45)=5.27, p = 0.026, d = 0.67 | was significantly better | #5 |
a 5-minute mindfulness session | increase | communication and knowledge subdomains | ENT residents | - | was significantly better | #6 |
a 5-minute mindfulness session | no change | perceived stress | ENT residents | - | There was no significant difference | #7 |
- | increase | empathy perceived by simulated patients | simulated patients | - | was positively correlated | #8 |
- | increase | residents' performance | ENT residents | - | was positively correlated | #9 |
A short mindfulness meditation | increase | ENT residents' performance in a simulated bad-news consultation | ENT residents | - | is effective for improving | #10 |
INTRODUCTION: Delivering bad news is a stressful moment for both patient and clinician. As poor bad-news consultation quality may lead to misunderstandings, lack of treatment adherence, acute or even post-traumatic stress in patients, training interventions to improve communication skills and stress-management are necessary. Mindfulness is a recognised stress-management strategy that has shown its efficacy in reducing stress in both health professionals and students. We then supposed that a short mindfulness meditation session performed just before a simulated breaking bad-news consultation to patients with laryngeal cancer may help ear, nose and throat (ENT) residents to master their stress and improve their management of this consultation. This study aims at showing how a short mindfulness meditation performed before a simulated bad-news consultation may improve performance in its realisation by ENT residents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 53 ENT residents, randomised in 2 groups. The first group completed a 5-minute mindfulness session while the other group listened to a control track. Thereafter, every resident completed an 8-minute simulated bad-news consultation with a standardised patient. Two blinded expert assessors evaluated their performance on a 25-point grid (BNC-OSAS). Residents self-assessed their stress before and after the intervention and simulated patients rated their perception of physician's empathy. RESULTS: The performance was significantly better in the mindfulness group than in the control group (m = 19.8, sd = 3.2 and m = 17.4, sd = 3.7 respectively, F(1,45)=5.27, p = 0.026, d = 0.67), especially in the communication and knowledge subdomains. There was no significant difference in perceived stress between the 2 groups. Empathy perceived by simulated patients was positively correlated to residents' performance. CONCLUSION: A short mindfulness meditation is effective for improving ENT residents' performance in a simulated bad-news consultation. These results encourage further assessments of this method with objective measures of physiological stress. More research is required concerning the feasibility and efficacy of mindfulness before daily clinical activities such as stressing bad-news consultation.