Welcome back to The Peds NP Acute Care Faculty series! This collaborative series was created and peer-reviewed by national experts and leaders in acute care PNP education. In the push for competency-based education where faculty verify the skills of what a learner can do, rather than their knowledge, our series focuses on the application of didactic content with a practical approach in a conversational way so that you can learn the nuances of clinical skills before you reach the bedside.

This episode discusses a standardized approach to delivering bad news, founded in the literature. The SPIKES protocol is the most well recognized approach to create an environment, assess patient and family knowledge and preferences, deliver the news compassionately, and empathize prior to a summary. With examples of phrasing you can offer at each step, you’ll gain the skills necessary to deliver bad news.

Authors (alphabetical): Becky Carson, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC, Ann Felauer, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC, Belinda Large, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC, and Robyn Stamm, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC

References:

Brouwer, M. A., Maeckelberghe, E. L. M., van der Heide, A., Hein, I. M., & Verhagen, E. A. A. E. (2021). Breaking bad news: what parents would like you to know. Archives of disease in childhood, 106(3), 276–281. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2019-318398

Buckman R. (1984). Breaking bad news: why is it still so difficult?. British medical journal (Clinical research ed.), 288(6430), 1597–1599. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.288.6430.1597

Buckman R. (2001). Communication skills in palliative care: a practical guide. Neurologic clinics, 19(4), 989–1004. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0733-8619(05)70057-8

Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Children and Their Families, Field, M. J., & Behrman, R. E. (Eds.). (2003). When Children Die: Improving Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Children and Their Families. Chapter 4 communication, goal setting, and care planning. National Academies Press (US).

Kaplan M. (2010). SPIKES: a framework for breaking bad news to patients with cancer. Clinical journal of oncology nursing, 14(4), 514–516. https://doi.org/10.1188/10.CJON.514-516

Ptacek, J. T., & Eberhardt, T. L. (1996). Breaking bad news. A review of the literature. JAMA, 276(6), 496–502.

Sisk, B., Frankel, R., Kodish, E., & Harry Isaacson, J. (2016). The Truth about Truth-Telling in American Medicine: A Brief History. The Permanente journal, 20(3), 15–219. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/15-219

Varkey B. (2021). Principles of Clinical Ethics and Their Application to Practice. Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre, 30(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000509119