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Ng IKS, Tan LF, Kumarakulasinghe NB, Goh WGW, Ngiam N, Teo DB. Providing family updates: a primer for the medical trainee. Postgrad Med J 2024; 100:344-349. [PMID: 38272463 DOI: 10.1093/postmj/qgad143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Providing family updates is a common clinical task for medical trainees and practitioners working in hospital settings. Good clinical communication skills are essential in clinical care as it is associated with improved patient satisfaction, understanding of condition, treatment adherence, and better overall clinical outcomes. Moreover, poor communications are often the source of medical complaints. However, while patient-centred communication skills training has generally been incorporated into clinical education, there hitherto remains inadequate training on clinical communications with patients' families, which carry different nuances. In recent years, it is increasingly recognized that familial involvement in the care of hospitalized patients leads to better clinical and psychological outcomes. In fact, in Asian populations with more collectivistic cultures, families are generally highly involved in patient care and decision-making. Therefore, effective clinical communications and regular provision of family updates are essential to build therapeutic rapport, facilitate familial involvement in patient care, and also provide a more holistic understanding of the patient's background and psychosocial set-up. In this article, we herein describe a seven-step understand the clinical context, gather perspectives, deliver medical information, address questions, concerns and expectations, provide tentative plans, demonstrate empathy, postcommunication reflections model as a practical guide for medical trainees and practitioners in provision of structured and effective family updates in their clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac K S Ng
- Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore 119228, Singapore
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore
| | - Li Feng Tan
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore
- Healthy Ageing Programme, Alexandra Hospital, Singapore 159964, Singapore
| | - Nesaretnam Barr Kumarakulasinghe
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore
- Department of Haematology-Oncology, National University Cancer Institute of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
| | - Wilson G W Goh
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore 119228, Singapore
| | - Nicola Ngiam
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore
- Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Hospital, Singapore 119074, Singapore
| | - Desmond B Teo
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore
- Fast and Chronic Programmes, Alexandra Hospital, Singapore 159964, Singapore
- Division of Advanced Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore 119228, Singapore
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Ng IK. Physicians, know thy patient. J R Coll Physicians Edinb 2024; 54:84-88. [PMID: 38523064 DOI: 10.1177/14782715241240510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Person-centered care is presently the standard healthcare model, which emphases shared clinical decision-making, patient autonomy and empowerment. However, many aspects of the modern-day clinical practice such as the increased reliance on medical technologies, artificial intelligence, and teleconsultation have significantly altered the quality of patient-physician communications. Moreover, many countries are facing an aging population with longer life expectancies but increasingly complex medical comorbidities, which, coupled with medical subspecialization and competing health systems, often lead to fragmentation of clinical care. In this article, I discuss what it truly means for a clinician to know a patient, which is, in fact, a highly intricate skill that is necessary to meet the high bar of person-centered care. I suggest that this can be achieved through the implementation of a holistic biopsychosocial model of clinical consultation at the physician level and fostering coordinated and continuity of care at the health systems level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Ks Ng
- Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
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da Silva MDAP, Corradi-Perini C. The Mapping of Influencing Factors in the Decision-Making of End-of-Life Care Patients: A Systematic Scoping Review. Indian J Palliat Care 2023; 29:234-242. [PMID: 37700891 PMCID: PMC10493695 DOI: 10.25259/ijpc_292_2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Decisions in end-of-life care are influenced by several factors, many of which are not identified by the decision maker. These influencing factors modify important decisions in this scenario, such as in decisions to adapt to therapeutic support. This presented scoping review aims to map the factors that influence end-of-life care decisions for adult and older adult patients, by a scoping review. The review was carried out in 19 databases, with the keyword 'clinical decision-making' AND 'terminal care' OR 'end-of-life care' and its analogues, including publications from 2017 to 2022. The study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews. The search resulted in 3474 publications, where the presence of influencing factors in end-of-life decision-making for adults and the elderly was applied as a selection criterion. Fifty-four (54) of them were selected, which means 1.5% of all the results. Among the selected publications, 89 influencing factors were found, distributed in 54 (60.6%) factors related to the health team, 18 (20.2%) to patients, 10 (11.2%) related to family or surrogates and 7 (7.8%) factors related to the decision environment. In conclusion, we note that the decision-making in end-of-life care is complex, mainly because there is an interaction of different characters (health team, patient, family, or surrogates) with a plurality of influencing factors, associated with an environment of uncertainty and that result in a critical outcome, with a great repercussion for the end of life, making it imperative the recognition of these factors for more competent and safe decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carla Corradi-Perini
- Bioethics Graduate Program, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
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