An Online Training Program to Improve Clinicians' Skills in Communicating About Serious Illness

BACKGROUND

Large-scale efforts to train clinicians in serious-illness communication skills are needed, but 2 important gaps in knowledge remain. (1) No proven training method exists that can be readily scaled to train thousands of clinicians. (2) Though the value of interprofessional collaboration to support incapacitated patients' surrogates is increasingly recognized, few interventions for training intensive care unit (ICU) nurses in important communication skills can be leveraged to provide interprofessional family support.

OBJECTIVE

To develop and test a web/videoconference-based platform to train nurses to communicate about serious illness.

METHODS

A user-centered process was used to develop the intervention, including (1) iteratively engaging a stakeholder panel, (2) developing prototype and beta versions of the platform, and (3) 3 rounds of user testing with 13 ICU nurses. Participants' ratings of usability, acceptability, and perceived effectiveness were assessed quantitatively and qualitatively.

RESULTS

Stakeholders stressed that the intervention should leverage interactive learning and a streamlined digital interface. A training platform was developed consisting of 6 interactive online training lessons and 3 group-based video-conference practice sessions. Participants rated the program as usable (mean summary score 84 [96th percentile]), acceptable (mean, 4.5/5; SD, 0.7), and effective (mean, 4.8/5; SD, 0.6). Ten of 13 nurses would recommend the intervention over 2-day in-person training.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses testing this web-based training program judged it usable, acceptable, and effective. These data support proceeding with an appropriately powered efficacy trial.

Protocol of the KTFT-TALK study to reduce racial disparities in kidney transplant evaluation and living donor kidney transplantation

Living donor kidney transplantation (LDKT) is the optimal treatment for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). The evaluation process for a kidney transplant is complex, time consuming, and burdensome to the ESKD patient. Also, race disparities exist in rates of transplant evaluation completion, transplantation, and LDKT. In December 2012 our transplant center implemented a streamlined, one-day evaluation process, dubbed Kidney Transplant Fast Track (KTFT). This paper describes the protocol of a two-part study to evaluate the effectiveness of KTFT at increasing transplant rates (compared to historical controls) and the TALK intervention (Talking About Live Kidney Donation) at increasing LDKT during KTFT. All participants will receive the KTFT evaluation as part of their usual care. Participants will be randomly assigned to TALK versus no-TALK conditions. Patients will undergo interviews at pre-transplant work-up and transplant evaluation. Transplant status will be tracked via medical records. Our aims are to: (1) test the efficacy and cost effectiveness of the KTFT in reducing time to complete kidney transplant evaluation, and increasing kidney transplant rates relative to standard evaluation practices; (2) test whether TALK increases rates of LDKT during KTFT; and (3) determine whether engaging in a streamlined and coordinated-care evaluation experience within the transplant center reduces negative perceptions of the healthcare system. The results of this two-pronged approach will help pave the way for other transplant centers to implement a fast-track system at their sites, improve quality of care by transplanting a larger number of vulnerable patients, and address stark race/ethnic disparities in rates of LDKT.