Unexpected death, any major complication or any error produces very strong emotions high reactivity. Clinicians need support setting up and conducting conversations about tragic outcomes. In conversations regarding “major” complications or clear errors, emotions and disappointment are stronger, particularly the…
Communicating news about a diagnosis of life-threatening illness, discussing prognosis, eliciting patients’ goals, translating goals into interventions, providing psychosocial support and saying goodbye are critically important interventions for all clinicians. Often, specialists such as oncologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, and others provide…
This module describes a six step process for giving bad news and discusses special circumstances that commonly arise in the communication of bad news. These circumstances include discussing prognosis, discussing conflict between what the provider and the family think the…
This module describes advance care planning (ACP) concepts and skills to encourage you to enter into ACP conversations. Conversations could be during a time of health in the office setting or during the end-of-life in the hospital setting. Diplomate Engagement…
The term “medically unexplained symptoms” (MUS) refers to symptoms that are not adequately explained by the presence of organic disease or pathology, even after an appropriate work-up. Patients with MUS are in emotional distress, and caring for them is difficult…
This module provides the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed in the screening, evaluation and referral of patients with substance use disorders. Diplomate Engagement Self-assessment questions tailored to each specific module topic are required upon module completion. Multiple choice questions required;…
Alcohol use disorders afflict 20 percent or more of adults and lead to tragic family and social problems, injuries and death. Most clinicians feel inadequately prepared to interact with affected patients, and many express feelings of dismay at having to…
Intimate partner violence is widespread, especially among women seeking medical care. It affects women’s overall well-being, any children involved and society by increasing cost of health care. In this model, we describe how we can help by screening for abuse,…
In this module, we will review the special challenges of communicating with depressed patients. Clinicians need special skills to meet the many challenges of depression assessment and depression management in the general medical setting. In addition, clinicians who treat depression…
Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that cause disabling anxiety and fear. Unlike episodic anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are relentlessly distressing, disrupting patients’ lives with irrational fear…
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